Severed.

This will be the last in the series. My final week in photo essay form. I am in mourning, still. I thought it would be easier to close this chapter. I was wrong. It has been easy to let go of the job, but hard as hell to say goodbye to both what we almost had and fought for over the past four years, and the people who undeniably had my back.

I’ve never been good at letting go of things when I feel like we never got a fair shake. I can hang on to hope for years, long after the moment has passed.

Soon this will just be a blurb in my life when I look back. I’m not a social person, and I know in my heart — no matter how small this town is — I will never see some of my favorite people again. I may never see my union rep or the local’s president again. People I trusted, and those who trusted me to represent them will become a fond memory, because life keeps on moving.

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Things were already rolling by the time my week started.

This last week flew by, and I kept forgetting to stop and see things.

There were less breaks than before because our staff had significantly thinned. I tried to make each one count, even if it meant no more than a walk around the building.

By Saturday, one day to the end, people were sifting through the dregs to try and find something. Our record bins had seen better days.

One last outside excursion on Sunday. The last of our “nature walks.” We made it to the empty building next door by way of an unlocked gate. My coworkers are used to me taking photos, but my stopping to get this one made them laugh.

And then… the hours were counted. One-by-one, my coworkers gave long, teary hugs and slipped out side doors. It’s been a long time since I’ve cried so much. But I was staying to the end.

As my favorite supervisory-type person gave the final closing announcement with an emotional crack in his voice, I stood on the mezzanine and wept, as my coworker wrapped their arm around my shoulders. I stood there for another few minutes, then hurriedly tried to memorialize the minutes after our absolute last ever Sunday night close:

Goodnight, bookstore.