I sat on the sofa, twisted at the waist to throw an arm across the back cushion as I stared intently out the large window behind me. Beyond the glass the hills rolled down to flat fields, then a dark prickly line of trees, then a snow capped mountain. The golden sun fought through the clouds to illuminate that peak with light, while only spots of the surrounding miles glowed with the late light of day.

A hairline vertical fault in the pane became my focal point, and I moved back and forth so it rippled across my view. The landscapes on either side of the line were very close, but I knew they were separated by time. One was an image of the past. I knew it was familiar, and when the memory resurfaced a smile broke across my face.

“This is just how it looked when we moved here.” I tossed to the room at large. It was occupied by my siblings. None of them paid me any mind. They sat and read their books intently.

I watched them, saddened that they had fallen so far into despondency.