A few careless words, never meant to wound, can start a chain reaction no one intended. Here a column of black walnut stands for a friendship once whole. A notch cuts into its side, and the wood around it is charred, as if the words had burned on contact. From that point a crack runs down the grain, and a blackened fragment pulls away from the body like a flame. What was spoken in a moment leaves a lasting mark, and the piece shows how quietly and how completely words can divide.