• It's silent in my room. It's silent even though there are about twenty people crowded in there. Each one has some sort of tool; a clipboard, a flashlight, some detective junk.

    It was silent in my room. It was silent in my room when a man came in a shot me.
    He had a small gun. I had only seen a little bit of it before the darkness came.

    It still is silent in my room. It's silent as my mom packs up the remainder of my stuff.
    A tissue box next to her legs; the Kleenex brand.

    It's still silent in my room. It's still silent as a little mouse creeps it's way into my empty closet. He has some cracker crumbs on his whiskers. He must have found my stash of hidden food.

    It's loud in my room. It's loud as my little brother graduates.
    He and his friends are all laughing and having a good time.

    My little brother takes a long look around, then turns to his friends.
    "Sh." He coos. Each one goes quiet.

    "Big Sis." He says. "We all miss you."
    I give him a smile, even if he can't see me.

    And the room goes loud again. His friends are all agreeing with him, each one shouting something they knew about me. Like the time I helped a hurt cat. They all shout good memories. And even though they don't know, they make me laugh.

    I'm glad that my room is not so silent any more.