energy_____

I was in a meeting Friday. The lights were dim and there was a projection on a screen. The projection displayed words that spoke of me. The words explained how I was going to become a product, and how that product would be marketed. About halfway through the gathering, the room collapsed upon me, and I imagined the shrinking space as a coffin with no escape. My pallbearers surrounded me in their suits and coifs.

Claustrophobia.

I took a deep breath and I thought of Kris to ease the dread. I thought of her clean cuts of flesh. I thought of her smell. I thought of her broad shoulders and the maze of freckles upon them. I closed my eyes and thought of the arch of her back and the nape of her neck.

It worked for a time.

Then I began to cut myself. Using a straightened paperclip, I made a starburst out of three lines while sitting in my high-dollar orthopedic leather chair. There were just three lines that crossed in the middle to create a star two Ks back to back and merged.

My publicist called me to attention and I raised my arm to rest it on the table. Blood was running. Everyone saw. No one said a word. The meeting was adjourned.