Blown Out

People You Know But Never Speak To

You’re looking through a basement window because something down there glinted, almost like a live spark.

It was just a fluke of sunlight and angle.

The glint came from a mylar balloon on the floor in a corner.

The basement looks otherwise empty. 

You can’t see a laundry room or a furnace, though you assume they’re down there.

All you see is an empty room. 

Some families might call it a playroom or a rec room.

But there’s nothing down there.