19
I wake to the sight of an old woman standing over me. She’s a crone, twisted and ancient and alien, a disruption of my reality that lasts a millisecond, but it’s a millisecond that stretches so tortuously over my surprise that I’m able to process so much. It’s seven years ago. I’ve been sent home from work for a few days because I have a bad cold and, after waking around my usual time, have stayed in bed and tried to catch up on sleep. But light’s busting in from the window, and the blinds aren’t that effective. Come the morning, I know about it. Opening my eyes, seeing her,…
Four
I had a falling out with a friend over a film production we were trying to get up six years ago. The issue was meant to be settled shortly after, but whenever we have any new disagreement, it becomes the fuel for him to attack me. He has no self-control in these times. He verbally eviscerates me, then apologizes a day later, citing he’s hot headed. He thinks this is okay. It’s not that he’s intentionally malicious. But this is his methodology, the way he’s programmed to respond. He doesn’t have the self-awareness to change. And his logic has always been that friends argue, they forgive one another, and they…