I Loved Both Brothers, Yet Died Alone

On our anniversary, Cyrus left me alone again.

It takes four hours to drive from Springfield to Maplewood, and he made the journey overnight without stopping.

Just before midnight, he sent birthday wishes—not to me, but to Nina Brooks.

In her latest updates, I saw them together, arms entwined, holding a gleaming opal ring.

“Four hours can’t stop love,” the caption read.

But Cyrus seemed to have forgotten that those same four hours marked the time I’d been stranded in the mountains.

Lost in a fog-drenched jungle, my phone battery teetering on the edge of death.