09-21-2022, 09:36 PM
[[Continued from Out in the Light]]
Raffe dozed on the metro. He’d paused in a public restroom to splash water on his face and straighten himself up as best he could, unwilling to waste the time travelling back to the club for a shower and change of clothes. Feverbright eyes had stared back in the grimy mirror. He felt as weightless as he had at the cabaret, aware his racing thoughts were not altogether rational, but sure the Sickness would pass soon like it had then. Inside he flushed hot then cold like his body was making a racing journey all of its own. The Vega estate felt like years away. Another life. Someone else’s life. The train rattled on, rattling his bones with it.
By the time he arrived in the affluent Vega neighbourhood, Raffe felt out of place in his own skin, let alone amongst such flagrant luxury. Since he had no money for a cab, he walked from the station and hoped no one would find exception with his appearance enough to call the police. Time felt like it was slipping away from him. Each footstep taunted an echo of too late, too late, too late. When his head spun, he paused against a tree. Felt a moment of calm, if not quite clarity. Pushed on.
He’d only been here once, but he recognised the house when he came to it. The slow simmer of memory was pushed down somewhere deep. He knocked, and waited.
Raffe dozed on the metro. He’d paused in a public restroom to splash water on his face and straighten himself up as best he could, unwilling to waste the time travelling back to the club for a shower and change of clothes. Feverbright eyes had stared back in the grimy mirror. He felt as weightless as he had at the cabaret, aware his racing thoughts were not altogether rational, but sure the Sickness would pass soon like it had then. Inside he flushed hot then cold like his body was making a racing journey all of its own. The Vega estate felt like years away. Another life. Someone else’s life. The train rattled on, rattling his bones with it.
By the time he arrived in the affluent Vega neighbourhood, Raffe felt out of place in his own skin, let alone amongst such flagrant luxury. Since he had no money for a cab, he walked from the station and hoped no one would find exception with his appearance enough to call the police. Time felt like it was slipping away from him. Each footstep taunted an echo of too late, too late, too late. When his head spun, he paused against a tree. Felt a moment of calm, if not quite clarity. Pushed on.
He’d only been here once, but he recognised the house when he came to it. The slow simmer of memory was pushed down somewhere deep. He knocked, and waited.
![[Image: Raffe-banner--scaled.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Raffe-banner--scaled.jpg)