Part 5

He stared dead-eyed at the broken life. Numb didn’t even cover it, it was pain and hurt covered in darkness. Gutted and otherworldly, he stood within, without belonging, wondering who he was now. Within the veil of opportunities he considered recreating himself and starting anew. They would treat him for shock afterwards.

Part 4

She wondered whether she’d fallen asleep with a cigarette again. It wouldn’t have been the first time. The TV was on loudly when the fellow in his army uniform yanked her off the couch. She thought it was that recurring dream again, the one on that fiery night of bombs in London. He fooled her because of his helmet. She had to admit, that senior’s community in Lauderdale that her kids wanted her to move to was looking better and better.

Part 3

The job was his second wife, his mistress and lover. It encompassed his soul and entire being in a way that overwhelmed even he, to which he responded by maintaining the wall he built around it. It was impossible to explain it to her that it would never be easy to leave, though she pressured him constantly. This morning he rescued a little girl trying to get back in, and saving her made it all worthwhile. He could breath today and maybe attempt to describe the satisfaction.