I married a stranger I met in a hospital waiting room so he wouldn’t die alone—after just one week of marriage, his lawyer handed me his backpack.

eyes and said, “Don’t mistake stillness for peace.”

“What does that mean?”

“Don’t mistake stillness for peace.”

His smile was faint.

“You’ll know.”

Then he slept.

He never woke up.

And the green backpack sat open at my feet like a map with no roads.

I didn’t open the notebook that night.

He never woke up.

I took the backpack home, set it on my kitchen table,continue reading …