There are doors inside you that you haven't found yet. Roam now, lightly, rapping your knuckles along the walls. Ah--did you hear? The echo of empty space? There are rooms inside you that you haven't entered, windows through which you haven't looked. Imagine, imagine who waits for you there.

Think of something that is easy to love, the speaker told me, so I thought of the tree I pass on my runs in the woods, its girth too wide for me to hug, though that doesn’t stop me from trying. The hug is a gift from another runner I met, whose father and grandfather did the same whenever they came this way. Hugs like tree rings, expanding. Hypothesis: The world gets bigger the more you give to it. Each time I press against the rough-ridged bark and close my eyes, I see something new.

Every place has secret places inside it. There is no end to the mystery, which hides in plain sight. Even this story has a lid, if you can find the latch.

P.S. House of Liars is out today! Please consider recommending it to your local library. Also, a brief newsletter update: Microfictions will come monthly instead of biweekly, to make space for other creative projects. Happenings will still be sent three times a year. Thanks for subscribing--and no hard feelings if we part ways, pinky swear.