The Next Chapter Room

Tag: Relational Dynamics

  • Containment.

    Containment.

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    by

    Harper Leigh
    in

    They both brought boxes. Hers was open. Not overflowing.Not chaotic.Just open enough to show there was something inside. You could see it had been tended to.Sorted.Considered. When something landed between them, she didn’t throw it back. She placed it in the box. “Let me sit with that for a second,” she would say, steady. Her…

  • The Cake

    The Cake

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    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.…