The Stellar Man

I peeled off my clothes in the blackness, the cold leaching every drop of cheer or happiness I could even think to muster. I stood nude and cold, letting the cold bore into me until I could no longer feel it, until I was numb. Pulling on my clothes was no comfort, seeing as I could no longer feel anything. It was better that way. Soph was asleep now, her breath coming in slow, steady paces. I bent down to kiss her cheek, tucking the blanket back up to her chin. Clement was similarly peaceful, unaware of the pain. I bent down to kiss him, too, then I grabbed my heavy coat and darted from the room. The hallway was dimly lit with a weak light-bulb every here and there. The floor was a worn and stained carpet that was once stark white but now more a dirty yellowish, and the walls was peeling wallpaper that used to be blue and white stripes. I creeped down like a mouse, my breath echoing like a monster’s in the silence.