A MAN WHO COULDN’T STAY QUIET
I helped her onto the sofa. I held a dish towel carefully to her lip. My hands trembled too much to keep steady.
The landline didn’t work. My cellphone was dead.
I looked into her eyes and saw more than pain. I saw fear. That fear broke something inside me.
So I did the only thing that came to mind.
I stepped outside and made my way to the center of the street.
I didn’t care about dignity. I didn’t care how I appeared.
“They hurt her!” I shouted again. “They came into our house and hurt my wife!”
The words rang out, then dissolved into the air.
That was when I felt the pavement quiver.
At first, I blamed my shaky legs.
But the vibration intensified.
A low rumble moved down Willow Bend Drive.
I lifted my head.
