THE TOWERS FAMILY SAGA
        EPISODE 21
The condo by the park was
quiet, but it wasn't the
heavy, dead silence of the
Towers estate. Robert sat
on a folding chair,
listening to the muffled
thump of a neighbor's TV
leaking through the thin
drywall. In the mansion,
he hadn't heard a human
sound for forty years
unless he paged the
intercom. Now, the world
was bleeding in through
the electrical outlets.
Virginia arrived at sunset
with a small bag and Bella
tucked under her arm.
'The temporary bungalow
was far too beige,' she
said, setting the cat on
the laminate counter.
'And the kitchen sink
leaked like a sieve in a
rainstorm.' Robert looked
at her, the radical
honesty itching at his
throat. 'I missed the
noise, Virginia,' he
admitted, his voice
rough. 'I missed knowing
there were people on the
other side of the wood.'
Virginia nodded, scanning
the tiny living area. It
was barely the size of
their old marble foyer.
'We're not an empire
anymore, Robert. We're
just neighbors living in a
box now.' Bella claimed
the top of the fridge,
watching them with wide,
golden eyes. She was the
only witness to the
fragile start of a life
without high walls.
Robert stood up and walked
to the sliding glass
door. The city lights were
bright, unfiltered by
estate trees. 'Do you
think they know?' he
asked, watching a bus
stop on the corner. 'Do
you think they know the
man who built the skyline
is now eating dinner on a
card table?' Minnie
joined him at the glass,
her reflection pale and
thin. 'They don't care,
Robert. And that is the
most honest thing about
this.' They stood together
in the small room,
stripped of the grandeur
that had shielded them
from reality. The radical
honesty had taken their
home, but it had given
them a view of the real
world. Bella let out a
soft chirp from her
perch. She seemed to
agree that the view was
much better from the
bottom looking up. The
first night in the condo
felt like a prison cell
to Robert, but to
Minnie, it felt like a
sanctuary. No more staff
listening at the doors.
No more hiding. Just two
people and a cat,
learning the sound of
their own voices without
the echoes of an empty,
cold palace.

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