Her uncle’s basement hadn’t changed since 1987. Wood paneling. A broken air hockey table. And in the corner, a Sony SL-HF300 Betamax player, still humming when plugged in. She’d inherited the house after his disappearance. The police called it a “walk-off.” Lena called it what it was: a vanishing.
[The audience leans forward.]
She didn’t believe in warnings. That was her first mistake. Intensity 1997 Subtitles
[Mother’s left hand trembles. She has hidden the kitchen knife under her thigh. She will use it in 14 minutes.]
[The audience thinks this is fiction.]
From behind her.
“Pass the salt, honey.”
“Nothing about 1997 made sense,” he said, and refused to take her money. She left the tape on the counter anyway.