William
I stood outside the hospital nearly an hour later after getting myself discharged. Just a mild concussion, I had been told. A few scrapes and bruises, they said. Nothing major—that’s what it meant. I removed a cigarette from my pocket. It had been a long time since I smoked, but stress like this just pushed me over the edge. I exhaled an impatient breath as I tried to find a lighter.
Suddenly, a lighter appeared in front of my face, one of those gold-plated ones with fancy inscriptions. This one even had angel wings and some Italian writing, but I couldn’t make it out too well—it was in such fine cursive.
"Thanks," I said, without looking up, thrusting the cigarette into the flame that was offered.
"You’re welcome," a familiar voice said.
I moved slowly, looking up into the f
