smear the black ink across the expansive paper desert, granting your last demands.

I stare down at the asphault and wonder what’s buried underneath. A tonic of gasoline and 0-negative has given this deathbed of so many worms the craggy face of a reaper.

Your new cobalt and red friends adhere the badges to your chest, because you’re a winner! You shake with excitement. The induction ceremony reminds me that I am a visitor here.

The only thing keeping me dry is the single-note symphony looming over our heads.

You seem so out of context in this gaudy apartment complex. A stranger with your door key, explaining that you’ve overstayed your visit.

I am finally seeing why I was the one worth leaving.

Your welcoming committee presses a banner to my chest, asking for an autograph and your life story. I tattle on the reaper and my hands begin to sweat all of the tears you’ll never taste.

The bar turns out its lights, and the jukebox playing your new anthem halts the vibrato. I drop your parchment tombstone and