“I said seven, I said you had to be here at seven,” Steven says.

Mark sighs in frustration.

“No, you didn’t! You said I had to leave at seven,” he says.

“Why would I tell you to leave at seven? I don’t care at what time you leave as long as you’re here on time. Which was seven. You were supposed to be here to help carry the casket with us because Arnie isn’t strong enough to hold one side by hims...

Sigh.

I don’t want to go.

I don’t want to go.

My thoughts out loud on a screen.

That doesn’t make sense,

I would like to scream.

My mind is tense.

Trust me, I’m calm.

Still water, almost frozen.

That calmness.

Before the storm?

The calm.

Maybe, before the storm.

Because I don’t want to go.

My chest, it aches.

My breath, I can’t hear it.

Too many takes, in my head.

Scenes, with words to say....

“I think I just met the happiest person in the world!”, said no one ever. Happy people don’t exist in this world. At least not in the one where I’m from. Absolutely ridiculous. “Happiest person in the world”. Who even thinks of that? So imaginative. Call me bitter, I like the taste. No tanginess whatsoever. Sappy and squishy. Yuck....

“There is something I feel like I have to tell you, but I don’t know if I should, because I actually don’t want to. And I have never said this to anyone, out loud. Not even myself, like, these words have never come out of my mouth before. So, it’s kind of hard, but this thing I want to tell you is just weighing so heavily on my chest it’s making it hard for me to breathe.”

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Breathe...