Changing trains. The subway takes me as far as the Hub, central terminus of the Judith rail system. It is situated at the intersection of thousands of miles of track, the focal point of an intricate latticework of stations, sidings, platforms, and depots. Incoming trains haul flatbeds high with timber, mountains of coal in metal [...]
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The free clinic is located in the basement of the hospital, four flights below the main entrance. Helping Hearts, Helping Hands, a sign reads. Deep underground, there are no windows. The light is entirely artificial—white bulbs, rather than blue, but equally sterile. They provide no shadows, no reprieve. The receptionist tells me they are meant [...]
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Tonight I do not dream of the farmhouse. Instead I dream that I am walking Canal Street, pacing restlessly beneath the winter streetlights. There are no stars, but there is a hint of a moon in the sky. It falls to earth through shards of swirling cloud, fragments of snow swimming in slow motion over [...]
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I pass beneath the November elms. It is early morning, and the moon is visible. Dead leaves crunch like glass under my feet, left brown at my passing. There is no other sound. From the road, I can see to the farmhouse, square and whitewashed with a glaze on the roof. The sun is rising [...]
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