“The door locks from this side.”
After she left, I crossed the room and tested it.
The lock turned.
I stood with my hand on the key, listening to the silence beyond the wood.
The wedding night.
I had managed not to think about it with any clarity. It had remained behind the ceremony, the reception, my mother’s photograph, and the questions multiplying faster than answers.
Now there was only a door.
I removed the veil. Pins fell from my hair onto the dressing table. My reflection looked pale and strangely young.
The dress fastened down the back with dozens of small covered buttons. I reached behind me but could not open more than two.
I tried again.
The fabric pulled at my shoulders.
A knock sounded at the connecting door.
I stopped breathing.
“Eveina?”
Niko’s voice.
I crossed the room but did not unlock it.
“What?”
“Teresa said you may need help with the dress.”
