Searching For- Connie Carter In- -

Searching for Connie Carter in the leaving.

A Connie Carter in Portland sells handmade soap. Another in Tampa runs a dog rescue. A third—deceased, 2014, no photo. I filter: Arkansas. High school. Approximate age. Zero matches. Then a comment on a forgotten reunion page: “Connie? She changed her name. Doesn’t want to be found.” The account that posted it is deleted. Searching for- CONNIE CARTER in-

Searching for Connie Carter in the static. Searching for Connie Carter in the leaving

The postmaster remembers a forwarding order. “Chicago,” he says, spitting tobacco into a Coke bottle. “That was ’89. Or ’91.” The gas station clerk remembers nothing. The librarian pulls a city directory: Carter, C. – 1414 N. Sheffield, Apt. 2B. I drive twelve hours north. The building is a vacant lot. A for-sale sign bends in the wind. A third—deceased, 2014, no photo

Searching for Connie Carter in the silence after.