Comfortable Madness First PDF 4-13-18

Soon
I knew things. I knew someday Tayla would walk away.
Someday, Coy would come with his knife and split me open. I
knew I was dying. The couch was hard under me. The cushions
were too full. My back hurt. My leg ached.
Gid stood in the corner. Not his usual solid self. The edges
of his body were hazed, like ink dropped into water.
“I’m here,” he said.
The room was dark. Light from the lamp on the corner fell
through the window.
“You’re going to be fine,” he said.
“I’m dying,” I said.
He shook his head.
“I’m scared,” I said.
“Scared is good,” he said.
I reached for the lamp.
“Don’t,” he said.
“Gid…”
“Not now,” he said. “Not yet.”
“I need to see you.”
He shivered.
“I’m not ready,” he said.
I lay on the couch, heavy and soft. Even the air seemed to
press on me.
“Soon?” I asked.
Gid nodded.
“When?” I asked.
“When I’m done,” he said.
Between one thought and the next, I slipped away. I fell
into thick and seamless dark. I floated.
“When I’m done,” Gid said again.
“Soon?”