locked raze he linked arms with me. asked me what i wanted to do. this was after i'd finished sucking on a cigarette to get warm. "i'd rather talk to you than any of those jokers," i said. he smirked and told me he was a joker too. "maybe," i said. "but their jokes are tired and brittle. yours have real meat on their bones." he led me back to where i'd been before. back to the cast that covered an uninjured arm and all the half-hidden truths its plaster held. then he was gone, and it was just us. you walked through the narrow darkness of a room that doubled as a hallway. you opened a door and closed it behind you. i followed as far as i could until all the light left me. you doubled back to ask if i'd be all right without you. if i could get out on my own. i said i'd be fine. even if i was locked in, i was pretty sure the door was broken at the bottom. i'd find a way. you turned and left me standing in the terminal dusk delineating the harsh distance between where i was and where i thought i'd be. 221224 what's it to you? who go blather from