Imagine mourning Ryland after he vanishes from your life without warning. You were his neighbor, his friend. But you started to see him less and less until you never saw him again. You tried to find answers, but the school heâs employed at was no help, nor were the police.
The only thing you had left of him was his cardigan.
Ryland offered it to you one day while you were walking around town with him. It was a cold and wet day. It suddenly started to rain and rain hard. So, he gifted you his cardigan to keep you warm. You meant to return it, but you forgot you had it.
But when he disappeared, you were very grateful you never gave it back. You wear the cardigan on cold winter days. Or maybe around the house to lounge around in. You talk about him to your loved ones, usually when youâre in his cardigan.
The cardigan is the only piece of clothing you take good care of. When you wash it, you make sure itâs in a laundry bag and leave it out to air dry. You fiddle with the sleeves a lot, pulling them over your knuckles.
Many years have passed since Rylandâs disappearance and youâre wearing the cardigan one day. As you make your way home, you see a woman with cold eyes and long red hair standing outside your doorstep.
She looks over at you, a file pressed to her chest. She addresses your name in a heavy accent. She walks towards you with such vigor that you stumble back in surprise.
Her eyes wander to your outfit, the cardigan. She lifts her head and hands you the folder. Her hands grazed yours, touching your sleeves. Her face twists in pain for a second.
âIâm sorry,â she mutters so softly for a woman that seemed like nothing could touch her.
And before you can even blink, sheâs gone.
You stand there for a long time. Finally, you return inside your home and open the manila folder. In the folder, thereâs a letter addressed to you with handwriting that seems familiar.
The next day, the news plays on the television. The news anchors talk about space, Taumobea, and about a schoolteacher turned astronaut, Ryland Grace.
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