The calendar in the kitchen stayed on the same page for weeks.
Mara did not turn it. She did not erase the dates. She did not add anything new. It remained on the same month, the same blank squares, the same red circle around her birthday.
The apartment stayed the same too.
The living room furniture stayed in the same place. The kitchen table stayed where it always had. The broken vase remained broken, pieces stacked carefully in a plastic bag and placed in the trash bin.
Eli's room stayed the same as well.
His bed was made each morning. His shoes were lined up. His school uniform was folded neatly on the chair. His backpack sat by the door, ready to be picked up.
He did not touch the envelope.
He did not take it out.
He did not move it.
For a month, the apartment was full of things that were there but never used.
The first week passed without a word.
Mara left the apartment early each morning. She returned late. She took longer showers. She stayed on the phone longer. She didn't sit at the kitchen table.
Eli did not ask her anything. He did not call her name. He did not look for her.
He did not ask for food.
He did not ask for money.
He did not ask for permission.
He simply existed in the apartment with his routine.
He woke up at the same time. He dressed. He went to school. He came home. He did his homework. He sat in his room. He waited.
When Mara was home, she moved quickly. She walked from room to room without stopping. She opened the refrigerator and took out food without looking at it. She took the trash out and did not speak to Eli as she passed his room.
The hallway stayed quiet.
Eli heard the refrigerator door open and close. He heard the microwave beep. He heard the shower turn on. He heard the sound of the front door lock.
He heard nothing else.
The second week, the school noticed.
Ms. Hale called Mara during lunch.
"Mara," she said, "Eli has not been talking in class."
Mara paused.
"He's quiet," Ms. Hale continued. "He's always been quiet, but this is different. He doesn't answer questions. He doesn't speak to the other students. He doesn't join group work."
Mara listened.
"He hasn't missed any days," Ms. Hale said. "He's still coming to school. But something has changed."
Mara did not respond right away.
"I'll talk to him," she said finally.
Ms. Hale asked one question.
"Has anything happened at home?"
Mara did not answer.
She hung up.
She did not tell Eli that the school had called.
She did not tell him anything.
The third week, Eli stopped eating at the table.
He took his food into his room and ate with the door closed.
He kept the food on a plate. He washed the plate. He placed it in the sink.
He did not leave it out.
He did not make noise.
The apartment stayed quiet.
Mara noticed.
She did not comment.
She did not ask.
She did not look into his room.
She continued to move through the apartment as if she were alone.
The days grew longer.
The silence became the main sound.
On the 23rd day, Eli returned from school and found the envelope missing.
He stopped at the doorway of his room and looked at the desk.
The envelope was gone.
He walked to the kitchen.
He opened the cabinet where he kept school supplies.
The envelope was not there.
He checked the living room.
He checked the closet.
He checked under the bed.
He checked behind the bookshelf.
It was not anywhere.
He stood in the kitchen, holding his backpack strap with both hands.
The apartment was empty.
Mara was not in the kitchen.
He went to the living room.
She was sitting on the couch, looking at her phone.
She did not look up when he entered.
He stood there for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Where is it?" he asked.
Mara did not move.
"Where is what?" she said.
"The letter," Eli said.
Mara looked at him.
"I don't know what you mean," she said.
Eli's voice did not change.
"The envelope," he said. "The one I left on the table."
Mara set her phone down.
"You left something on the table?" she asked.
"Yes," Eli said. "I left it there. I did not take it."
Mara stood up and walked to the kitchen.
She opened the table drawer and pulled out a small stack of papers.
She looked at them.
She looked at Eli.
"These are old papers," she said.
"They are mine," Eli said.
Mara's voice stayed the same.
"Then why would you leave them on the table?" she asked.
Eli did not answer.
He looked at the floor.
Mara walked back to the couch.
She sat down again.
"Go to your room," she said.
Eli turned and walked back to his room.
He closed the door.
He sat on the bed.
He did not take out the notebook.
He did not open the notebook.
He waited.
The fourth week, the apartment changed again.
Mara stopped leaving early.
She stayed home.
She did not sit at the kitchen table.
She did not use the couch.
She sat in the corner of the living room, near the window, with her phone in her hand.
She stared at it without moving.
Eli noticed.
He did not speak.
He did not move.
He did not eat.
He did not go to the table.
He did not go to the couch.
He stayed in his room.
The only sound was the clock.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
On the 28th day, Mara spoke first.
Eli was in his room, sitting at his desk. He was writing in his notebook. The page was blank except for a single line.
He heard the front door open.
He heard Mara's footsteps.
He heard her stop outside his room.
He heard her knock once.
"Eli," she said. "Open the door."
He did not move.
She knocked again.
"Open the door," she said.
Eli stood and walked to the door.
He unlocked it.
Mara was standing there, holding a small bag.
She did not speak.
She handed the bag to him.
He looked inside.
It was a lunchbox.
He looked up at her.
She waited.
"What is this?" he asked.
"It's food," she said.
Eli did not move.
Mara took a step back.
"Put it on the table," she said.
Eli took the lunchbox and walked to the kitchen.
He placed it on the table.
He did not open it.
He did not look inside.
He walked back to his room.
Mara followed.
She stopped at the doorway.
"I didn't ask you to come in," she said.
Eli stood still.
Mara said nothing else.
She turned and walked away.
Eli closed the door.
The next day, the school sent a note home.
It was placed on the kitchen table.
Eli saw it when he returned from school.
He picked it up.
He read it.
It was a message from Ms. Hale.
It said: Eli is not speaking in class. He is not participating. He is not joining group work. Please contact the school.
Eli put the note back on the table.
He did not move it again.
Mara came home later and saw the note.
She did not read it.
She picked it up and threw it in the trash.
Eli watched her from the hallway.
He did not move.
He did not speak.
He did not ask.
He went to his room and closed the door.
The month ended the way it began.
The calendar stayed on the same page.
The red circle stayed around the birthday date.
The apartment stayed quiet.
The broken vase stayed broken.
The envelope stayed missing.
Eli's notebook stayed closed.
Mara's phone stayed in her hand.
The clock continued tickin