Mary watched Kesha’s slender form melt into the silver mists that clouded the road. Carefully, she lifted a finger to smooth out the little folds she had begun to notice above her brow.

A heavy weight in her chest hurt every attempt to breathe. She sank to her knees.

“Lord God, I need you!” she whispered into the pale black air. “Why can I not hear you?”

Salt-water bathed the careworn eyes. The twinkling lights of the house danced through the glassy lens.