Nestlings

by Nat Cassidy

They had the scars

to prove they had made it through the worst years of their lives. But only survivors have scars in the first place.

A garden of resentment was sown that day. Its hideous plants bloomed at irregular, unpredictable intervals. A sprig of hate. A blossom of blame. Entire teeming hedgerows of depression and alienation.

Adulthood was all about compromises, wasn’t it? You decide what you need, what you want, and shift your priorities around until you find the least bad combination. Each compromise was a link in a chain, and if that chain dragged you down to the bottom of the East River? Well … at least you had Netflix and Spotify to distract you while you sank.

There’s so much suffering in the world. So much pain. You get to be a certain age and you gain a collector’s appreciation of it. But, my Reid, are you protecting yourself? Or are you protecting your misery?”