Fading Out Loud
By Kortney Gaura, Iowa
2026 Write Now Winner - Adult (Friend of the University)
Three sentences into her reading, I’m mesmerized. She approaches the climax. The protagonist is about to fade completely from life and no soul is noticing; soon she won’t even be a memory. Her fading voice releases pieces of her soul, flitting like butterflies around the room. She finishes. I gasp. There is no clear resolution. No neat ending. I stare at her, trying to read the meaning. How can someone who writes so exquisitely think they will not leave a mark on this Earth? Or is the fear mine?
