Goodbye, Dresden

It’s not like I knew her. She lived next door for only a short time, six months maybe, but the mere proximity lends itself to a sense of loss upon leaving. Maybe it’s because she left her door propped open after she was gone and the smell of her place filled the hallway. As I unlock my own door, I think how this was the scent that had been closed in until now, how when she would open her door, this is what home smelled like. And it's lovely.