The Man the City Swallowed

rotted. In daylight he was invisible. At night he was invisible too. His name would never appear in the news, on a city poster, or in one of those hiring ads for the new shopping centers up in the wealthier districts. It only showed up on overdue notices. His phone lit up. Another hospital billing reminder. His mother Sofia's chemo costs sat on his chest like a blade that had never been put away. His younger brother Noah, nineteen, had dropped out of community college to help with money and now delivered food on a secondhand e-bike. Someone stole the bike last night. This morning Noah had stood by the kitchen table and said, quiet as a confession, don't worry, I can borrow another one. Ethan heard it and felt something inside him get rubbed raw.