The Sound of a Car Door Slamming Down the Lane

Dear Delyara, At 3:45 AM, a car pulled into the turning bay outside our main gate, idled for a few minutes, and then someone slammed the door shut before driving away. The sound cut through the silence like a gunshot. It was such a normal, everyday sound, but out here, it felt like an incredibly intimate reminder of a world that is completely closed off to me right now. Someone was going home. Someone was getting out of a car to walk up a path, unlock a front door, and step into a warm house where someone might be sleeping. I stood up and pressed my forehead against the cool glass, watching the red tail-lights melt into the dark bend of the road, wishing more than anything that I was the one in that passenger seat.