Brains!

That night, the sunset behind a veil of smoke and smog. It was definitely hot pink in every sense, warm, obnoxious and unnatural. I had been leaning against the front porch post, sneaking a cigarette, but she found me. Instead of the usual reprimand, she stood on the step above me and ran her fingers through the hair at the base of my neck, the way someone would tickle a dog’s chin. We didn’t really need to say anything. We had stopped a long time ago. Over time it was more like the rock at the bottom of the sea, and the currents constantly surrounding it.