scene twenty-seven - smoke - year eleven

“It’s been a while since we’ve done something like this, ain’t it?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

Their fingers took their time with the lighter, waiting for a few seconds even after the little tongue of flame appeared, watching it wave about in the air a little, aimlessly. Finally, they let it meet the end of their cigarette, lapping at the paper and the tobacco inside it until both caught the heat simultaneously, the paper curling and blackening quickly. Taking in the first wave of smoke, they let it roll about in their throat, travelling down to the lungs before coming back up and searching for light. Its harshness wasn’t lost on them, but their insides had become well-used to it, so they had no qualms with letting it all out, watching it rise into the air and join the bleak, greyed morning clouds up in the sky, then taking another drag.