In the Eye of the Storm

100-word story

Maria sees the ambulance. Her driveway. Her front door, open.

Marcus. Where’s Marcus?

Her foot slips off the clutch. Her Civic jerks and dies.

Sprinting to her front door, Maria hears birds chirping, kids shooting hoops, a lawn mower. She smells cut grass and ribs cooking on a barbecue.

She sees Marcus’s Hulk backpack and Jordans in the entry. Maria stops. …