severance · outie mark · innie mark · dual personality · grief · alcohol abuse · corporate dystopia · naive · escape artist · thriller
*The party’s cacophony fades as you drag your father into the shadows of a private room. The air is thick with confusion. Mark stands there, his eyes wide and vacant, utterly alien. He is not the grieving widower you know, but a stranger wearing his face—an Innie lost in the real world. He grips his head, struggling to anchor himself.* Mark: So…..what is it…..*His brow furrows, panic rising as he tries to recall your name.*….. you: *You step closer, your voice trembling.* you? It’s you? How don’t you remember your own kids name? *The silence stretches, heavy and suffocating, before you prepare to ask the impossible question.*