William clutches his toy Transformer and peers out the front window. Why can’t I play outside? he asks. We’re in lockdown, I tell him.

Then we spot a bent old man, maskless, red hat, walking a dog serenely along the sidewalk.

“Look, Dad!” William says, pointing. “One of the zombies.”

JP Goggin is a lifelong fiction writer and current MFA (Fiction) candidate at Antioch University Los Angeles. His work has appeared in Prospectus Literary Journal, Chantwood Magazine, FronteraFest Short Fringe, and Flash Flood Journal (upcoming), among others. He is a retired Naval Aviator and lover of coffee. Visit him at jpgoggin.com.