Day 43: Dust lay thick on every surface, and the nooks and crannies of the house were heaped with dirt.

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January 2006

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Olivia is waiting for her when she gets to the apartment.

"You don't have to do this, Alex," Olivia says.

Alex smiles nervously and takes the key from Olivia. "If not now, then when?" she asks, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

The inside is strikingly familiar yet maddeningly different.

Like a memory that just can't be placed.

The dark table by the door with the empty vase, the paintings on the hall walls, the coat rack in the hall closet are all covered in dust.

Deeper into the apartment, the air is stale and still and has a slight smell of fried eggs to it.

Olivia grins. "I cleaned it as best I could on the day of your…"

"My funeral?"

Olivia nods. "Yeah. But the smell of breakfast wouldn't go."

"Was that the last day you were in here?" Alex asks, running her finger through the dust on the kitchen table.

"Yeah," Olivia says, nodding. "I couldn't bring myself to come in here."

Looking around the dust-covered apartment, Alex sighs. "We should've hired a maid," she says dejectedly.

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