On the face of her phone Wileen programs a message to herself so that when the alarm clock rings the screen flashes: EVERY DAY IS ONE DAY LESS. EVERY DAY IS ONE DAY LESS.
For some people happiness it's just a reduction in suffering.
Jordan. Jordan tattoos the words FORGIVE ME in thick black letters down the inside of his arm so that when he looks at his wrist he will remember not to hate himself so much.
What he keeps forgetting is that there is life after survival.
After Dave left Mary started sticking her face between the film projector and the movie screen so that when the credits roll she still gets to be somebody.
Whenever Tara's past comes back she mashes chalk into the sidewalk until her knuckles bleed. She scribbles and scrapes scribbles and scrapes till the words take shape and this is what they say
I wanna die muther****ers die DIE muther****ers hold tight if I love ya cause it might not last long.
Y'all, we're all gonna die. That's the exciting part. It's learning how to live for a living, that's the tricky stitch.
Just ask Denise whose family taught her when she came into this world that Family equals Love so Denise took that **** seriously but after a lifetime of craving acceptance from their cruelty she now finds herself jamming Polaroid pictures of these people into her typewriter and pounding out the last letter of the word mercy over and over and over again. She strikes the key Y. Y? Y? Y?Y?Y?
The answer? The answer comes in the form of a handwritten letter from the moon. It reads: This is brutally beautiful. So are we. This is endless. So are we. We can heal this. Signed, Crater Face P.S. See me for who I am. We've got work to do.
But my father he didn't read moon he didn't speak moon and he didn't write moon so there was no letter found next to his body in the garage when he chose to leave this place on purpose without saying where he was goin' or why. There are still days you can catch me tape recording eternal silence and playing it backwards for an empty room so I can listen to his dieing wish shh.
Yes, it's true, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, but my family tree was in an orchard on a hill that rolled me to the river and that river ripped me through the rapids and those rapids rushed me into this moment right here right now with you at the mouth. This is my church. And if church is a house of healing hallelujah welcome come in as you are have a look around stay out of the porn. There are massive stacks of bad choices in my backyard. Haven't finished cleaning the place up but I'm workin' on it and clearly I have not yet reached enlightenment for more than a fleeting moment but I'm tryin' and I found somethin' here I want ya to have. It's not much just a story but it's all I've got so take it.
It's called Dillon. Dillon's drug of choice was more so Dillon took more and more and more and more until the day he woke up babbling in a pool of his own traffic jam realizing he was killing off the best parts of himself and claiming he could read peoples' skin. When Dillon looked down at his heart flap the skin read Boy, go find your spine and ride it outta here.
Wileen's gut said Day 1. Jordan's arms were FULLY FORGIVEN.
Mary's face: The Endless. Tara's knuckles: Healing. Denise's fingertip said C? C. C. C.C.C.
And my smile Dillon said my smile it said Fix it so I came here to the mouth of the river to look at my own reflection in the moonligh