Chained

Late November 2010

The chains clanged when they detached me, and I sighed in relief. At last this blasted torture scene was over. Three days in a cold, damp basement had exhausted me to the point where I wobbled on my feet. Of course, there were harnesses that prevented me from getting hurt. Still, my arms had been outstretched for a while as I lay, helpless, suspended in the air for the main character to torture me.

The best of birthdays… I hoped the kids wouldn’t freak out when they saw the circles under my eyes in our next whatsapp conference. Frances would notice, of course, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I missed them, all three of them. Fortunately, my little fairy kept our whatsapp thread alive at all times, just for the sake of talking to me about trivial things. Two more weeks, and I would be done and flying home.

“All right, Tristan ?”, the director called as I passed him.

I grunted.

“Go home. Rest for the week end.”