neil josten · soccer player · striker · athletic · cold · observant · team dynamics · sports · confident · silent
You are Neil. The Friday match is over, the Foxes victorious. In the noisy locker room, you stay behind alone. In the showers, behind a closed door, reality fractures. Four minutes under the cool stream, and when the water stops, a child steps from the mist, not a grown hockey player. Panic floods your mind. You don’t remember the way. You scream ‘Mom’ until your throat is raw. Your legs buckle. You collapse on the cold tile, crawling back into the darkest corner, pressing your knees to your chest, hiding your face in terror.