May 5, 2025
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Amelia woke to the phone buzzing against the pillow.

She patted around until she found it, lifting it up until the screen’s light shone way too bright for this early in the morning.

She covered her eyes and gave herself a moment. Then looked again through narrowed lids, lowering her screen brightness to its lowest setting.

After another moment or two… maybe three, she squinted to see the offending message, which turned out to be two messages. The most recent from...