Extra - A Good Day

June 2024

Kyle Centowski is 56
 


The first thing that Kyle realized on waking, was that he wanted to look out the window.  It didn't seem like much, but he still recognized the significance of it.  It had been a long time since he'd really wanted anything at all.

He'd been in this room for probably a month now, although he'd lost track of exactly how much time had passed, and he'd stopped caring anyway.  Every day was the same.  He never resisted anything they wanted him to do.

He answered when he was spoken to, although he said as little as possible.  He got up when they told him to, washed and ate and took his medication because they said he should.  If he'd had his own way, he wouldn't have bothered with any of those things, but somehow it took less effort to just go along with it, than it did to resist.

The only thing he ever refused were visitors.  He just didn't see any reason to talk to anyone.  What did he have to talk about, anyway?  He never had the inclination to do anything more than just sleep and stare at the walls.  They'd tried to get him to do more, and he'd occasionally gone through the motions just because they'd told him to, but he really didn't see the point. 

He didn't see the point of looking out the window, either... But he was as curious about this new wanting, as he was about what was outside the window itself.

Curious enough to actually get out of bed, walk over to the window and pull up the blind.

The early morning sunlight streamed into the room as he looked out into the city street.  Traffic was crawling, people were rushing to work, just an ordinary weekday morning.

Well, what did he expect?  The world doesn't stop moving just because one unhappy man wants it to.

He vaguely remembered someone telling him that he'd have good days and he'd have bad days.  So far, he hadn't really had either... just a fog, just a comforting numbness where his feelings should be.  He didn't know if it was the medication, or if it was just the passing of time, but the fog seemed to be lifting.  He recognized a taste of the familiar anxiety, the emptiness, the fear.

But along with them, there was something new.  Something that felt a little bit like hope.

Kyle closed his eyes and let the sunlight warm his face.  It felt good.

Maybe today would be a good day.

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I needed a kind of 'bridge' between what happened before, and what happens the next time you see Kyle... and also I like the idea of ending the introduction part on a positive note...

Will start posting the round on the weekend.