“That’s good news, however I prefer to begin tomorrow " I mentioned.
He did not argue. Did not negotiate.
Just a curt nod.
Then he went out--the door closing with an intentionally slow click that made it seem to me that he was imprisoning me still further in his universe every time he left my room.
I slumped into the bed and my body succumbed to exhaustion. Over me like a wave, exhaust me hence beneath. Time slipped by in a haze. Someone entered—a nurse whose features were faintly half blurred from drowsiness. She administered an injection into my arm that stung then dulled all sensation, from my ribs downward.
When evening arrived the pain had vanished. Not lessened. Not eased.
Gone.
Too gone.
It was as if my nerves had been disconnected internally. There was something off, about
