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I smoke it a lot here; I need it here

“Hopefully this doesn't draw the witch’s attention,” I say, turning and slu onat aze alh ed depths of my soul

Or ?

“Why do you call your mom the witch?” Yori's boyfriend asks, his hair slicked back and frozen solid with too lad I can't remember his name because clearly, he thinks he's the shit My lips crease into a frown as he stands up and takes the joint back from me

“E h wooden step Some people in town—like Yori's faes, underneath their epoxied floors with fancy logos and coes full of Coca-Cola

Not us

We have this half-assed hole dug in the ground with a rickety wooden door, a rusty handle, an old sofa, and a recliner with the yellow stuffing leaking out of it If this place is supposed to protect us from a massive cyclone, we're all screwed Personally, if a cyclone does show up, I ht just lie down in the field and watch it consume the world

“Ozora!” A shrill voice cracks the eerie silence of the prairie and draws a growl from Toto's lips In the year since I moved in here, I don't think I've seen the woman smile Based on those old black and white photos froirl She was pretty and young and naive, but when she e-worthy, looking through all those pictures and seeing what she looks like now Broken, sad, desperate “Ozora!”

I ignore her She's so superstitious, she won't go near the cellar unless she has to She's got it in her round can summon tornadoes That'd be nice, wouldn't it? To have the power to summon tornadoes?

That's such a high-person thought, isn't it?

“E the joint around and leaving a trail of white smoke that sits so freakishly still it looks painted in the air Oz is the only na, she kno to get ot, like, killed while they were on vacation or whatever”

I narrow ers in the long fur of his ruff for comfort Yeah, my family did die on vacation Everyone I knew and loved in the world, save this dog, is gone