-deeper- Emily Willis - Barrier -15.07.2021- Instant

The deepest barrier wasn’t the door. Or the name. Or the distance.

15.07.2021

She reaches toward the line but stops an inch away. Her hand trembles. -Deeper- Emily Willis - Barrier -15.07.2021-

She looks at the letter on the chair. It’s from her mother. Unopened. The deepest barrier wasn’t the door

They tell you the barrier is to keep things out. Monsters. Memories. The hands that touched you in the dark. It’s from her mother

A minimalist apartment at twilight. Rain streaks down a large window. EMILY WILLIS (late 20s, sharp but tired eyes) sits on the floor, back against a bare wall. Across from her, an old wooden chair holds a single object: a sealed letter with her birth name on it.

The only light is the blue-gray glow of a muted television playing an old home movie. A younger Emily, maybe ten, waves at the camera, laughing.