Reunion

I am trying to experiment with short stories and flash fiction alongside my novel. This is an early attempt.

The door opens, just like it has done a thousand times that day. Silence enters.
The buzz of conversation among old friends evaporates as the silence finds an empty seat, pulls up to a table of familiar faces.
We’ve all changed since school, the silence tells themself, why should I be any different?
The quiet recedes from the edges of the room; conversation resumes.
Someone steps up to the stage, welcomes the guests. She makes eye contact with the silence and stumbles over her words.
Is that…? someone starts asking, but they are shushed.
The speech continues, a mention of fundraising for a perfect, apolitical cause.
The silence folds in on themself.
The whispers echo around the edges.
The silence wears a badge. It says ‘my pronouns are they/them/theirs’.