A new day?

He was lost. He hurt from the inside out. He wanted to sleep it off, but he had nightmares. He tried drinking it off.

She worked in his office. She showed him the best side of humankind. She understood him some. When she didn't, she called him on it. She called his bullshit.

He may have taken her friendship for granted. A year slipped away without much notice. Her life took her elsewhere. To better things. Which was always going to happen. He was blind to reality.

He panicked. He acted shamefully. Embarrassingly. Stupidly. He hurt in a new way. He may have hurt her. He could be petty and spiteful. He was good at it.

He played loud music. He drank. He tried to tear bricks out of his house with his weak hands. He sank into the ground.

He woke up one day. In every way. He remembered everything she had tried to tell him. He could be better. He didn't have to repeat patterns. He mentally slapped himself. For good measure, he physically slapped himself. He cooked breakfast. He went for a walk. He bought a new CD. He danced in his living room. The neighbors could see his silhouette on the blinds, but he didn't care.

She had changed his life.