Twenty-One
– Nonfiction by Niko Alexandratos –
Honourable Mention in the 2025 Dreamers Micro Nonfiction Contest and featured in issue 20 of Dreamers Magazine
You would be twenty-one now, the age I was when I made the choice.
I wonder what life would have been, a mirror universe where a different me made you possible. Not regret, but second guessing.
But it was a non-choice, these other paths only visible now, looking back. I wonder if you see it the same way, or, on seeing my life now, if you feel cheated.
In the liminal space between waking and sleeping, I feel you with me, within me. You are not lost, I carry you under my skin, an ember of radiant heat and light.
About the Author – Niko Alexandratos
Stephanie Lafleur is a Human Resources professional with a writer’s soul. Raised in Northern Ontario, she now lives in Ottawa with her husband Jamie – her in-house jester, muse, and daily reminder not to take herself too seriously. She is quietly observant, infinitely curious, and firmly convinced that “normal” is just a setting on the dryer.
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