Issue 3 Star- Gazette

He quietly listened to Mar’s life updates on the way there, trying to wake up and distract
himself from his own. As they got to the farmers market he was beginning to pull
himself together, quickly noticing how busy it was and finding himself struggling to
decipher what was being sold at stands, but within moments she was already finding
things.
“Jack look!” she said running to a stand. “Cabbage flowers! I was worried all the old ladies
would buy them before I got here!”
He laughed at how candidly she spoke, “here I owe you since I made you run late. Pick
your favorite and I’ll treat you.”
Picking the brightest and biggest of the bunch, she flaunted around the market as they
chatted about nothing and everything as she filled her bags with flowers, fruits, and
homemade trinkets. Finally, they stopped at their favorite coffee shop to talk more and
rest.
“So Jack no offense, but is everything alright? Are you working too much or something,
you look like you haven’t slept since the last time I saw you.”
He paused to think of a witty response and debated telling her the truth. Mar was a
voice of reason for him, if he sounded insane she’d tell him, and if he didn’t. Well, he
didn’t know what he’d do if he didn’t, because there’s no way in hell he wouldn’t sound
crazy. He then thought that maybe that was just what he needed, someone to tell him
he sounded crazy and to seek help. Maybe he was just sleep-deprived and
hallucinations were the outcome. As more time passed he was beginning to feel like he
needed to talk to someone before he completely lost his mind, or maybe to his dismay
he already had. He was thinking too much, he was rather good at doing that.
“Hello, Jack? You with me?”
“Shit, sorry, I guess I zoned out for a second.”
“My God Jack, what’s going on? You’re seriously worrying me, you’ve hardly spoken,
couldn’t answer a simple question, you’ve got bags for days under your eyes and-”
“I think I’m losing my shit Mar. I think I’m losing my shit,” he said interrupting her without
thinking.
She paused to sip her coffee, “Well. I’m right here and listening. What’s going on?”
Like word vomit before he could even think about what he was saying he told her
everything. How recently he was driving home during a bad storm and as he was
passing the shore his car started to slip and he got into a small car accident. He made it
out uninjured and decided not to tell anyone but his parents because he didn’t want
people fussing over him. However, after a few nights, he started finding himself
struggling to sleep and got out of bed to make himself a glass of warm milk like his
mother used to do. He explained how he just turned on the small light in the kitchen
since the moon was rather bright that night, then once he made the milk and went to sit
down on the couch to drink it, he dozed off and had the most amazing dream. In the
dream he danced for hours with a woman, she fit just right into his arms, had long, dark