Kaylee Walton
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MINIMIZATION: A USER’S GUIDE TO OCCUPYING LESS SPACE
1. ON SLEEPING
- When the mattress still holds the warmth of a vanished body, lie precisely in the depression they left behind. Do not disturb the ghost.
- Align your breathing with the ceiling fan’s rotation: inhale (blade shadows cross your face), exhale (darkness between pulses).
- If you wake to hands shaking you, go limp. A rag doll cannot be accused of ruin.
2. ON EATING
- Swallow each bite only after counting to ten. The silence between chews should approximate the silence of an empty passenger seat at 3 AM.
- When food is scarce, lick salt from your palm and pretend it’s the snack she forgot to leave you.
- Advanced technique: Drinking more water tricks your mind. You don’t feel as hungry anymore.
3. ON FOOTFALL
- Walk heel-to-toe, testing each board before committing weight. The floor will betray you with sound; outwit it.
- Memorize the sticky patches—map them like landmines. One misstep and the house remembers you exist.
- Pro tip: Cockroaches crunch less when stepped on at a 45-degree angle.
4. ON BREATHING
- Practice the 4-7-0 method: four seconds in, seven held, zero released. The goal is to leave no trace in the air.
- If cigarette smoke clogs your lungs, cough internally. The real damage is never the smoke—it's the asking.
5. ON BEING SEEN
- Stand behind the sheer curtains when headlights pull into the driveway. Observe how the fabric turns you into a smudge, something that might wash out.
- If accused of ruin, fold at the waist until your forehead touches the carpet. Note the texture: potato chip crumbs, not bugs today.
- Reminder: A good obstacle knows it is an obstacle. Never flinch when she says you.
6. ON DISAPPEARING COMPLETELY
- Climb into the clothes hamper. Let her sweatpants muffle your ribs.
- When the furnace shudders, match its rattle. When the fridge hums, dissolve into the frequency.
- Final lesson: The body is temporary. The absence is what she’ll remember.
Kaylee Walton is a writer and special education teacher based in Virginia. Her work explores the intersections of womanhood, grief, survival, and memory. Her work has appeared in wildscape. literary journal, Sundog Lit, RVA Mag, and others. When Kaylee is not writing, she enjoys browsing the aisles of antique malls for 19th century postcards and cuddling with her cats. You can connect with her and find more of her work at cicadagospel.substack.com.
Photo by ESMA // 에스마, Unsplash, 2022
