His voice was strangely monotone, as if what he was saying was nothing more than a line. As if he was nothing more than an actor, cursed to a certain destiny by the whim of an unseen author. But did the author ever stop to contemplate the soul behind the name? Did he ever stop and think about the person behind the character? Their pain? Their dreams? Their hopes? Or did he, with a flourish of his pen, damn one to die and another to live?
His eyes were focused solely on the table, not even lifting to respond to my questions. His hair bothered me. It was styled like every other day I had seen him, the black waves crashing and peaking like a stormy sea. His hair looked normal—his actions were anything but.
He twitched, his hands shaking as he answered my questions. I reached out, covering his hand with mine, quelling the movement. I laughed, the sound short and false, as I told him it bothered me. As if this unrealistic scene was all some joke; any minute he would laugh it off and everything would turn back to normal. I didn't know what else to do, what else to say. For what do you do—what do you say—when someone tells you that they lost their mind?
