My grandmother says, “Words are your air and, to keep breathing, your pen must move forward. Immortality exists only on paper.”

I’ve paused before, but never stopped. Still, my hand tires. After endless inked pages, words lose their gravity. So I pen the last letters that mean anything anymore: goodbye.

Salena Casha’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in Bete Noire, The Adroit Journal, Fifty-Word Stories and others. Her picture book will be published by MeeGenius Books this summer. Follow her on twitter: @salaylay_c.