The digital displayed blinked a neon green 4:00 am at him, as “Better Man” began to play gently. He tapped snooze and rolled over wondering why he hadn’t chosen “Black.” It sounded more conducive to sleep, and that’s what he wanted.
He spun back over and hit the button to turn the alarm off. Knowing the snooze would only last two minutes, and what was the point?
He slid from beneath the covers; the carpet scratchy on his toes. He wondered why he hadn’t ripped it up as he grabbed what he needed for the gym.
The bathroom lights brought him into sharp review. A single gray hair was cutting a crooked path down his right temple. He wondered if this would have been easier when he was younger?
His coworkers thought he was crazy for being up this early. He always told them he had things to do, but he often wondered if it was worth the dark pockets that formed below his eyes. None of the articles he’d read had mentioned those.
His ankles popped on each step as he descended into the lighted darkness of the living room. He’d given up on trying to be silent years before. It didn’t matter now anyway.
He put the water on for tea and turned his laptop on, hoping today would be the day. He cracked the blinds so a sliver of moonlight would break through. It was how he preferred to search, in the quiet, before the rest of the world was awake.
He would try for a couple of hours before he went to the gym. Maybe today he would find her again. At worst, he’d be further ahead for being up so early.
Brain awake, he began to search the keys for the thread of her.
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