Measuring

Oh, how beautiful you were. What a beautiful family. A beautiful house. A beautiful life —until I took it all away.

I remember the sunlight on your face, the way your laugh danced through the air like a song. You had a way of making the world seem less cruel, less broken. It disgusted me.

You were in the garden that day, weren’t you? Kneeling in the dirt, your hands brushing against the soil. Kenji was beside you, talking about birds and leaves, his little voice too bright for this world. I remember watching you and thinking, I’ll take this from you.

And oh, did I.

I didn’t do it, like so many think, to show the world who I am. I am nobody. I simply take measure— on a whim. I did it to see who you were. I did it because I could.