The house had radiators: ugly, unnecessary appendages that stuck out of the poorly insulated walls. So when the radiators stopped working, our only sources of heat were blankets. I wasn’t sure why, but the fireplace was unusable. Something about raccoons.

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When the cold got to be unbearable, I would squeeze inside the small crawl space that barely fit me. It was uncomfortable, but directly over the kitchen and the warmest area in the house. I was able to ignore the smell of mildew and cramped space for that small difference of temperature.