Synopsis

The memory tightened in his chest, a familiar ache from a year past. He hadn’t intended to recount it, but the moment had demanded the story, the bitter truth of a Halloween humiliation. As he spoke, a wave of emotion washed over him, and soon tears streamed down his face. He recounted the incident with such intensity that he forgot to drink, and the relentless outpouring left him increasingly parched. The story ended with a choked sob, and a growing sense of weakness as he realized the full ext