Water sloshed to both sides
slipping over the side of the bowl.
Her hands trembled and she
blew bangs out of her face.
Her feet created small echoes on the hardwood flooring,
her nightgown flowed in an endless daze around her calves.
She left a trail of water droplets
like bread crumbs,
so Hansel and Gretel can find their way
back home.

She climbed up on the bed.
It was big
like a fortress,
a castle even.
Daddy and Mommy were King and Queen,
and she was their little Princess.

“Mommy,
he’s gone.”
She sniffled.
Water poured onto her sheets,
dousing her and Daddy.
Daddy stirred and
fumbled for his glasses,
while Mommy laid still.
Daddy turned the lamp on
and sat up.
“Why isn’t Mommy moving?” she asked.

“I,
I don’t know.” Daddy whispered.
“Daddy…

“What’s wrong with Mommy?”
Tears welled in her eyes and
she collapsed onto the bed,
dropping the bowl.
The tank cracked,
water oozed out.
Sand and colored rocks
spilled along the jagged glass.
Phony seaweed and
underwater villages scrambled in the mix,
drowning under the water.

The light flickered off and
the whines subsided.
A rock fell on their Castle of Glass.