The Hallway of Borrowed Coats

lucid · 2026.10.28

The coat hooks were already full when I reached the top of the stairs, and I began taking down the ones that were mine. A green parka with a broken zip, a gray wool I didn't remember owning, a child's anorak that smelled of pencil shavings and rain. Each one I pulled free left a small warm patch on the wall, as though someone had just stepped out of it.