“The world seemed to throb in that moment and reverberate. The buildings appeared clearer, sheening in an autumn crispness; the wind rippled through the grass, and the green shades of each blade waved at the summer-colored sun; the smells in the air—suddenly—vividly smelled of spring and fresh starts; and the world felt still, calm like a winter’s clarity. It all felt somehow more real, and more familiar to Danny, like a memory he had at some point forgotten. And there she stood. His heart skipped a couple of beats. Rapidly, he blinked and said, in a very quiet voice, to the first woman he had ever everythinged. “You shouldn’t be here.” LoveLifeLossPerceptionGhosts Book:Dysfunction Source: Dysfunction
“Then, in a blink, his ghost of memory was gone, leaving behind only the uncomfortable feeling of having been someone other than himself for a sliced instant of his life. He felt as if he were stuck between two futures, and whatever he did next would become the decision to live in one of them.” LoveLifeLossDecisionsGhostsDysfunctionChaos Theory Book:Dysfunction Source: Dysfunction
“Danny left the store, confident that he may have found a way to tilt this day a little more straighter standing, into something that didn’t so much resemble Pisa’s monument. Tracks of fate had begun to run a little too perpendicular with him today, rather than the parallel direction they usually run. He was realizing that parallel wasn’t so bad, no, in fact, he kind of missed it. Mostly, though, he just wanted some coffee. With each step, he felt as though a stony weight lifted off his chest. It had been there all morning, that heaviness, like an invisible albatross, a cartoon cinder block holding him down. He hadn’t realized the true size of it until, all at once, it dropped away, disappearing into the day without even a sound. Just a breath. His chest expanded as he took in as much air as he could hold, feeling good. Decisions were always cathartic, no matter their size.” LifeChoicesLossDecisionsDysfunctionChaos TheoryJust BreatheBean Water Book:Dysfunction Source: Dysfunction
“As seemed to be the theme of his days recently, Danny was questioning his reality, questioning his dreams, questioning his mind, questioning what was real, what was imagined, and then questioning why. “It’s as real as you want it to be, Danny,” barked that voice again that definitely wasn’t his. He was feeling displaced, like an outsider, as though he were simply doing a pale impersonation of himself. And not even a good impersonation either, with steps too long, breaths too quick, smile too wide, blinks too slow. Get a hold of yourself, idiot. So he searched the room, searched his world, interrogating the shadows, prodding the corners, acknowledging the spaces, seeking for something to ground himself.” LifeRealityDeathLossIdentitySanityQuestionsDysfunction Book:Dysfunction Source: Dysfunction