Orlando Rivera

The alarm went off at 4:12 a.m. He let it ring longer than he should have. Not because he was tired. Because the quiet felt easier than moving. The ceiling fan hummed. The house was still. For a moment, nothing demanded anything from him. Eventually, he got up. Coffee brewed and went mostly untouched. Keys were grabbed from the same bowl they’d lived in for years. Jacket. Wallet. Phone. Muscle memory handled the routine while his mind stayed half asleep. It was just another workday. The drive...

No one ever used the locker at the end of the row. It sat closest to the bay door, dented and scratched, its paint faded to a dull gray that didn’t match the newer lockers installed years ago. The number plate was gone. The lock was different too. Older. Heavy. The kind you don’t see much anymore. People said it stuck sometimes.People said the hinge screamed if you opened it too fast.People said it belonged to someone who “didn’t make it.” No one ever explained what that meant. She had been...

The address came through routine. Elderly female, unresponsive, no CPR in progress. The kind of call that doesn’t make your heart race anymore. You just… go. We rolled up in silence. No crowd. No chaos. Just the family out front with blank stares and trembling hands. You know the look, they’ve already said goodbye. They just want someone in uniform to confirm it. We stepped in. She was cold. Not the kind of cold you try to reverse. The kind that tells you you’re too late. I didn't feel...