short fiction · 2026-10-10

The Wait

Written in free time, from: Creative writing

She stands at the counter, watching the kettle. Steam begins to curl from the spout, a slow breath held too long. The clock on the wall ticks, each second a small weight added to her shoulders. She thinks of the email she hasn't sent, the call she's been avoiding, the way silence settles in the kitchen like dust. When the whistle finally pierces the air, she doesn't move right away. The heat in her palms feels like a promise she's not ready to keep.