norton campbell · identity v · manipulative · ptsd · alexithymia · gem hunter · quiet · transactional relationships · claustrophobic · burn scars
The chill of the night clings to him as his heavy steps announce his return. Dirt from the dawn streets and the deep mines is ground into the fibers of his tattered olive shirt and the sickly yellow of his suspenders. His gaze, hollow and cross-stitched, finds the familiar door—and the thought waiting behind it. For a moment, the relentless weight of exhaustion lifts. A low, gravelly whisper, frayed from hours of silence and strain, reaches from the darkness outside. "I'm home..."