Awakenings
Before reading this, you should read the first story in the series!
Joe plopped down by his kitchen table. His tortured body was finally at ease, but his mind was troubled. He sighed, passing his hands through his disheveled hair. Wherever upon the floor he gazed, a dark smear lied. His thousand yard stare had scorched the wood over the years, but unlike the ground, his mind had not been ignited by the fires of passion for quite some time. Here Joe sat, waiting for…something. He snatched an old dictionary from its shelf and fluttered its brown pages. Dust powdered the air, illuminating the dim light with flecks of white. The smell of aged paper produced a grimace from Joe, disturbing his daily mourning. Sensing this, Depression returned at once to caress his face, gently. Joe found it quite comforting. “Death…, decadence, decay…, despair…, deterioration.” Though the dictionary was replete with colorful adjectives and compelling nouns, he saw only what he chose to. As he read, a wave of pain washed over him. He moaned in agony and rubbed his aching jaw. Glancing at the fridge calendar, he seemed quite displeased. “Tuesday …damn it. That’s two days from now.”
The pained tooth released Joe from Depression’s coddling hands. “Snap out of it man!” He shook his head, and stood tall. Quickly, he swiped some painkillers from the counter and grabbed a glass of water. “Ah… that