The Man Made of Smoke

by Alex North

My defense mechanisms had served me well in so many ways, but they had also protected me from so much more than I needed them to. They were like old friends who had kept me safe once, but who kept sabotaging me now. I knew I should let go of them, but I didn’t know how. Perhaps a part of me was even scared of doing so.

You can’t just erase history like that, my son. You can look away. You can pretend it’s over and done with. But it’s always there.