The Next Chapter Room

Tag: Lived Experience

  • The Scanner

    The Scanner

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    by

    Harper Leigh
    in

    I scan.Not because I want to.Because I had to. I learned it in childhood.Scanning to make sure my mum was still breathing. I learned it through sexual assault.Through abuse.Through relationships. I learned to notice the pause before the pause.The invitation that softened.The door that stopped being held. I felt withdrawal before it was spoken.My body…

  • The Cake

    The Cake

    —

    by

    Harper Leigh
    in

    The cake had been going well. They had laughed while mixing it, flour dusting the bench, music playing low. It felt easy. Comfortable. The kind of moment that suggests there might be more of these ahead. Then, as Mara slid the cake across the bench, it tipped. The cake cracked and sagged to one side.…