This story by Marisa Silver is about a couple’s struggle to keep their marriage together after the miscarriage of their first child. Told from the husband’s point of view, it describes his wife’s trauma and slow recovery, which is set back by a carjacking in which they are held at gunpoint. This results in paranoia over security (so much so that she locks herself away over Halloween) and a rat in their bedroom wall. In a desperate attempt to save the marriage, he decides to take charge. Themes include loss, trauma and heartache, compassion and support, “flukishness”, disillusionment, paranoia.
What I Saw from Where I Stood Text / PDF (6,000 words)