Harbor Me

Haley receives a letter from her father. She wonders about what life was like with her father before he went to prison, because she was too young then to remember now. She is home alone and sits down to read the letter. Her father apologizes for not coming to the visitors’ room when Haley and her uncle last visited the prison. Her father ends the letter by saying he loves her and she realizes she loves him, too, even if she’s only ever known him as someone in prison. However, Haley is not sure if she can forget that he refused to see her on her last visit. She heads up to her room, thinking about how familiar her home feels. 

Haley meditates on what the concept of “the Familiar” really means. She thinks about her daily routine and time spent with her friends at school. She treasures small details of life like Amari’s amusing drawings and Tiago’s Santa hat and beard. She feels wistful about things like how weekends go by too quickly. Haley also stops to think about small things that would typically seem inconsequential, such as the fact that her uncle always shaves the left side of his face before the right.