The Scream Becomes A Yawn
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Summary
Nick looks up again, finding the man from earlier already looking over at him.
It’s that visual electric snap that rarely happens with strangers, that shock of inexplicable recognition, that fast catch and firm latch that happens when a cerebral switch is flicked. Recognition that Nick can’t quite place–and that the man seems to have. A twitch of his insincere smile, pulling down as he fights back a real one. A dip of his chin, and a slight pull of his brow.
Nick physically recoils, not knowing where this familiarity is coming from. People are friendly, conversational, kind–but, and this is not said to stereotype…this man seems to be none of those things.
There's a glint of something in his eyes, a flicker of mania. Something Nick only seems to see nowadays when he glances at his reflection.
Or, Nick learns how to stay gone when he runs.
Series
- Part 1 of The Scream Becomes A Yawn
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Summary
Nick's back to the west, he faces the east: the past left behind him, the brunt of it sitting heavy in California, with what's little left covering the footsteps he’d left behind in each state. Little by little, he left it behind as he traveled past the Midwest and into something new. He shut his eyes and breathed that weight down until it was barely anything at all.
A family left sitting around the dinner table, one seat empty. The scrape of silverware against plates, and polite mumblings. An elephant sitting in that room, instead of him.
Or, while Nick finds his peace and keeps his eyes to the East, we, as Orpheus, crane our necks and look back. The West sits with an unburdened past shroud about the land, a family left behind, and far too delicious to ignore.
Series
- Part 2 of The Scream Becomes A Yawn