After

It was just after the end of five and a half years with the same person, just after leaving our apartment together, after quitting my job and returning to school, that I moved into my apartment. My first alone apartment. Everybody helped me move in. They drove the van, loaded it up, unloaded it, cleaned my new flat.

And afterwards, surrounded by boxes, we ordered pizza and drank beer. We sat around and talked until it got dark, when everyone returned home. I was left alone, with strange unfamiliar noises from the street, the wood floors popping and the sound bouncing off the walls. It was dark too, I hadn't finished installing the lighting. I was lying there, lying awake listening to the strange sounds, unable to watch telly or get online, unable to call anyone because everyone I knew had just been here, just lying there until I eventually fell asleep.