Awakening

Imagine, if you will, a bright, airy room. Morning has just broken and the sunlight is reflecting off the fresh, white walls. The proverbial early bird breaking out in its morning song...

Now, imagine the exact opposite...

"Ugh..." Jack rubbed his sore head. "Where am I?", he thought to himself for a second until he noticed the black labeled bottle on the pillow next to him. "Good morning, Sunshine", he greeted his bedtime partner and took a swig. Jack had always been a firm believer in a healthy breakfast. A cereal malt beverage to start the day, for instance, was just what the doctor ordered.

"Doctors..." Jack had seen his fair share of doctors: both in a past life, in another line of work, and his current life. A victim in both cases. Stress leading to drinking, drinking leading to seeing a doctor, seeing a doctor leading to stress. A vicious circle. A perfect circle. A bloody perfect circle. A gloriously bloody perfect circle.

Jack took another swig and contemplated which leg he would get out of bed first. In the end it didn't matter, it was invariably the wrong one. He put his right foot on the floor and made his way to the bathroom. After relieving himself of yesterday's poison - in more ways than one - he turned around and greeted the ugly mug gruffly. After splashing his face with water in a vain effort to alleviate his throbbing headache, he looked up at the mirror once more and mustered a cracked smile, before returning to the bedroom. He finished his bottle of JD and threw it in the bin with the rest of them, the melodious clatter just another familiar part of his daily routine. "Hey, baby, looks like they're playing our song again...", Jack thought to himself, immediately followed by his own editor - tenant in whichever small part of his brain that wasn't swimming in spirits - commenting that either he was talking to an alcohol-ridden bodypart or an imaginary woman, but that he was ripe for the insane asylum either way - "Sucker". Jack took his brown trench coat off the rack and closed the squeaky door behind him.

To be continued...?