It was raining.

There was no lightning, no wind, no thunder or hail. Just a steady, pounding, gray rain.

He was walking down the street, hunched over as though he wanted nothing more than to shrink away from the world completely. Anyone he passed could see loneliness and despair written in his body language. But if anyone showed any concern, he just shrugged them off.

He reached a small, square building on the edge of the town. For the first time, he removed his hands from his pockets so that he could open the door.

The inside was just as dark and gray as the outside. He could hear the television in a nearby room, and he knew she would be there if he needed her … but he knew she didn’t want to be distracted, and he honestly didn’t want to talk to anyone, least of all her. So he moved on, up the stairs, to the small room on the top floor. Sitting on a worn-out chair near a dusty window, he leaned back and stared off into space, looking for the companionship that only his thoughts could provide.