Summary

The narrator arrives in her home region in the afternoon and goes first to the cemetery where her parents are buried. She notices the cheap plastic flowers left at the graves and feels the strange distance created by years of avoidance. After wandering the grounds, she drives on to a secluded abbey where she has arranged a short retreat, but the property’s warning signs and closed gates make her feel like an intruder from the start.

At the office she meets Sister Simone, who receives her briskly, and then Anita shows her around the church and the guest facilities. The narrator takes in the simplicity of the space, the crucifix, the absence of ornament, and the thick quiet that settles over everything. In her small cabin she tries to endure the stillness, checks her phone, and receives messages from Alex, whose travel and...