Marginalia
ShortStory 7,488 words Recommended by 4 award/anthology sources
"Margery crouched in front of the fireplace, skirts tucked back to avoid the flames, and raked coals out onto the hearth. She’d pushed the shutters open this morning to let a breeze but even at this hour sweat beaded on her brow and stuck her chemise to her skin. Their gray tabby cat jumped up onto the windowsill and mewed plaintively."
Content warnings 2
deathdeath-of-a-loved-one
Quasar links out; the story lives on Uncanny, where the author gets the click.