appointed

i climb the stairs to the ward, the sun is shining outside and burning the glass. it's cheered up, she says. i don't think so, i voiceover to my head, it's downhill from here. i change and they put my name on plastic bracelets, slipping them on my wrists like monogrammed handcuffs. i have 5.6 days of music with me and i think i’m gonna need it. a buzzer goes unanswered in the corridor and i wait. i'm all burned out at twenty-to and i barely even lit up.