The Whisper Man

by Alex North

a blueprint on which his life was built. The devil finds work for idle hands. Bad thoughts find empty heads.

Objectively, he knew it wasn’t true that he was worthless and a failure. But it always felt true. The trick, explained, still convinced.

Let the urge flare in the light of that, he thought. Let it have its moment. And then let it die.

The butterflies didn’t have a choice, after all. That’s what things do. Even in the toughest of circumstances, they keep living.

Once you let guilt get ahold of you, the bastard never let go.

“I suppose so, yes. But they have to come out eventually. And bad dreams can be our brain’s way of dealing with that. Breaking it all down into smaller and smaller pieces, until eventually there’s nothing left anymore.”