"Mena, Until," by Patricia Russo

This flash tale is about hope in a world of hot rain and ashes. Hope in a cold bucket. Hope actuated by a bright, sharp trowel. A waitful silence.

And Mena’s walking faster than I would have thought she could. The soles of her shoes glint silver in the gray afternoon light.

It's about Billy Behind Me. Look after him, Mena says. But when he touches the narrator's hand, we can feel it's a mutual looking after.

Mena, Until, by Patricia Russo