I couldn’t exist here. In the world that had come into being due to my absence. — Jaroslav Kalfar

His presence was soothing, but his existence incomprehensible.

“Do you feel free?”

“I feel like I’ve lost too much.”

“Freedom can feel that way.”

“My father never did anything else after that,” Valerie said. “Mostly, he became a drunk. But a man only needs one thing to be proud of. It will carry him through the rest of his life.”