The Strange Case of Dr. Anger V. Nostalgia

He was no longer seeing his face.

His arms and hands flew up involuntarily to his damp brow, then graying temples. He wasn't gazing passed himself, into the half manifestation in the darkness of the glass. He was peering behind, an invert, and it was nauseatingly painful, looking back like that. It felt like the stab of a migraine, inside.

He hesitated a moment at the sink as if about to vomit, then turned abruptly like an automaton donning shoes and overcoat. He walked out without shutting, never mind locking, the door. He'd be back no doubt.

He'd made this loop before, and there was something about it he couldn't remember. Like a moment of blackout. Grey space. No, a moment red. Red, and it washed over him. He was back, scrubbing his hands raw at the sink, shifting in his quilted housecoat and terry slippers.

The dry towel was gentle to his hands, and he pressed his bifocals back on.

06.30.2024

Nostalgia v Anger... which is more Dangerous? challenge by @dctezcan