Another month of 2026 is in the bag. Another day of digging through old files while shoving stale vending machine food down my gullet. I do what I can to keep myself amused. Sometimes that means watching videos of someone playing the latest Steam games, and sometimes it means putting on a ridiculous outfit to make myself laugh. It’s the only way to keep myself sane. I’m already feeling the cracks getting bigger. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out before I snap.

I’ve gotten to know the former staff of the Gazette pretty well from reading through the Bracket logs and their old articles. It almost feels like having friends. Then I remember they’re all gone, and that when they were still around, I had no inclination to connect with them. I really regret that. I know it’s a lesson in not taking people for granted and to put in the effort to make friends, but I’m not really in a position to put that lesson into action right now. Maybe someday I will. Or maybe I’ll be gone long before I get the chance.

Today is April 1st—better known as April Fools Day. Or is it April Fool’s Day? Or maybe April Fools’ Day? Is it a day for the fool of April, a day for multiple fools of April, or a day for making fools of others in April? I think it’s that last one, but I’m too lazy to look it up right now. I pity anyone named April today. I can only imagine how many times they must hear someone joke about them being a fool or whatnot. They will have heard the same joke a hundred times, but the people who tell them will act like they’re the first to ever think of it.

I’m not really one for pranks, so I didn’t post some joke news article about Elvis coming out of hiding to reveal where Bigfoot and Nessie have been hiding the UFO they tool around the galaxy in. Everything feels like it’s just a bit off from normal anyway. Reality is unreality, as they say. Do they say that? If they don’t, they should. They should also tell us who they really are. Am I already cracking more? Probably. Loneliness is a hell of a drug.

I apologize to any dedicated readers of the Gazette who haven’t been getting their news on a daily basis anymore. I’m doing my best to keep track of what’s going on in Emerson Valley, but it’s not easy when I’m so far away. I won’t contact the sheriff or the mayor or anyone at city hall, which doesn’t leave me with a lot of sources for current events. There are a handful of citizens who have been very kind in sending me emails about what they’ve seen or heard, and that’s been invaluable to me.

I really wish I didn’t have to run the Gazette alone. But I also don’t feel like I can abandon it and allow it to fall into the dustbin of history. I’m too invested to let go. Everything I’m doing to restore the legacy of the Gazette staff would be for nothing if I said “screw it” and let the website become yet another relic of a bygone era. I don’t really have anything else in my life of any significance. I guess if I gave up the Gazette, I would feel like I had no purpose in life. No value. No future.

Before this gets any more depressing, I’m going to end this edition of Quinn Uses The Gazette To Talk About Her Feelings. Does anyone even read these articles? It doesn’t really matter. It helps me to get it out. If someone is reading this: thank you. Even if you’re rolling your eyes and getting ready to close the tab in your browser, I appreciate you putting in the effort. It means more to me than you realize. So Happy April Fools Day everyone. Hopefully I won’t end up one of those fools.

-Quinn Paxton, Acting Editor-in-Chief, Emerson Valley Gazette