Set Voland--a homeless young man who attacked a child in the midst of hallucinations--has been caught by the police and sent to a psychiatric hospital. There, he's stricken by a meeting with a Shining White Being who will completely overturn his lif...
THE DEMON SAID: "HUMANS ONLY SPEAKS TRUTHFULLY IF THEIR SILENCE ISN'T PAID ENOUGH."
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"I've got a bad case of A.D.D.
I've been this way since seventeen
I've got a fucked up brain and a really bad attitude
I blame it on my drug abuse..."
Just Like You, Falling In Reverse
Darkness was falling when Set reached the alley he lived in. On the way to his own spot, he kissed his box-neighbor goodnight—with a couple of direct kicks in the butt.
The man turned roughly on his carton-bed and shot him an accusing stare. "Where've you been off to, slacker?" he grumbled in his friendly voice.
Set pulled out a crumpled cigarette from his pocket and put it to his lips, giving one to the other. "Light me, geezer."
The old fortune-teller snorted, but searched his own pockets to find a lighter and stretched his hand out. For a fleeting moment, the flame lit up the dark corner of their alley and a weight lifted off Set's chest. It wasn't the best place in the world but, for him, it was home.
He took a deep, slow puff. "Took me all day to sober up."
Isaac frowned. "After all the trouble we went through to get your ass off of that shit, are you using again? Don't you have any consideration for this ol' man?"
Set clicked his tongue, but quietly sat beside him. Isaac was getting old and never forgot to point it out. Bullshit—if he was as delicate as he said, he would've already been dead off in the street.
The rough wall pressed against his back helped him to stay sharp, but Isaac's judging eyes were still glued to his face. It was to avoid that kind of stare that Set had left his family. After all, he knew only one way to deal with it—spit out the truth nobody wants to hear until silence remains the only option.
"Well, didn't have much choice," he admitted unwillingly.
Set couldn't bother to explain he was talking about the meds he had been shot up with at the police station. The question had him already on edge. He was done with drugs and there was no going back. His disorder had already proven to be stronger than any other shit. Sure, every time he'd been high he'd experienced a temporary peace, but as soon as he'd hit the ground, he was back to square one. In fact, more messed up with new troubles and no cash. That's why the little detour left him pretty pissed.
Still, it was undeniable that Isaac had some rights to nag him. Even if the old man claimed to see the future, he had been living like a hobo long before Set came around. When they first met, it was winter—a season Set wouldn't have survived without help.
