Dear Mother, Everyone follows every rule, even if there’s a better way. No bicycles on sidewalks. Not one candy wrapper tumbling through the park. This board game alternates patches of trimmed lawns and cement under aqua streetlamps 50 meters apart. Advance, advance, retreat. The trolley runs through a tunnel in the castle’s base, only the castle looks like a silo with a turret. (By that I mean it’s just plain brown.) Its spire rises higher than the Bayer factory. We were allowed one trolley ride, and the momentary dark delighted us. When our guide entertained questions, Edith did not ask for the history of aspirin. His response covered sections and paragraphs. You’d think such rigor would appeal to her, but she’s eaten schnitzel all week.

Bio: Kathleen McGookey