What was is Gone Critique

The experiment is in the story told backwards, as the opening is in an “aftermath,” leaving the reader curious and confused. I like the unintentional understatement in the news: “just absolute chaos” but it might undermine the seriousness of the situation. The tension rises with the line “Any calls from my sister?” which hinted towards a family matter, yet her sister is not alluded to in the rest of the piece, which could be rectified easily. The line “Sorry for your loss” sounds more like a loss of a family member, which is confusing. Little hints at the misfortune of the situation dot the piece such as Rhonda peeing in a bucket. I think these could be multiplied. The phone call to Rhonda could use more ellipses in the place of her responses. There could also be more of a build up to the evacuation, such as seeing the weather report before Al went to play golf and exchanging a look. The ending is a start contrast, obviously intentional, with “And everything was fine.” Personally, I think starting with “And” takes away the separation and finality of the sentence. I want to see more of the family matters of trying to get into contact, of the feeling of isolation. There could be a hint at what Rhonda had planned for her birthday, but in some sort of tragic way, such as something reminding her of it while simultaneously reminding her of her situation.