Birds in the Mouth

Birds in the Mouth is a 2011 short story by Samanta Schweblin. You can read it online here. It begins,

I turned off the TV and looked out the window. Silvia’s car was parked in front of the house, with the emergency lights on. The bell rang again; she knew I was home. I went to the door and opened it.

“Hi,” she said. “We have to talk.”

She pointed to the sofa, and I obeyed because sometimes, when the past knocks on the door and treats me as it did four years ago, I continue to be an idiot.

“You’re not going to like it. It’s…it’s hard.” She looked at her watch. “It’s about Sara.”

“It’s always about Sara.”

“You’re going to say I’m exaggerating, I’m nuts, all that stuff. But there’s no time today. You’re coming home right now. This you have to see with your own eyes.”

“What’s going on?”

“Besides, I told Sara you were going to come, so she’s waiting for you.”

We remained silent for a moment. She frowned, got up, and went to the door. I grabbed my coat and went after her.

The house looked as it always did, with the lawn recently cut and Silvia’s azaleas hanging from the balconies on the second floor. We got out of our cars and went inside without speaking.

Sara was on the sofa. Although classes were over for the year, she was wearing her middle school uniform