I woke with gold in my mouth.

It was not a coin. It was a word. A single, heavy syllable that sat on my tongue like a stone I had swallowed years ago. It tasted of copper and old blood. I spat it onto the floor. It did not break. It rolled. It caught the light of the morning sun that sliced through the blinds. It stayed there. A small, perfect circle of yellow.

I am a printer. I make marks on paper. I align the type. I ink the rollers. My hands are always black. They are stained to the wrist. I have been doing this for thirty years. I know the weight of a letter. I know the smell of the press. I know the rhythm of the strike.

But I did not know the weight of a word.

The shop was quiet. The air was still. The gold circle sat on the concrete. I looked at it. It looked back. It did not blink. It did not move. It was there. It had always been there. I felt a pull. A hook in my chest. I wanted to pick it up. I wanted to hold it. I wanted to keep it.

I knew I should not.

My name is Elias Thorne. I own the shop. I live above it. I have no family. I have no friends. I have only the work. The work is my life. The work is my prayer. I believe in precision. I believe in order. I believe that if you do the job right, the world stays in place.

The gold word broke that order.

I watched it for an hour. I did not touch it. I made coffee. I drank it. The coffee was bitter. The word was sweet. I knew it was sweet without tasting it. I knew it was dangerous. It was a seed. A seed of something that did not belong in a shop in Boston.

The sun moved. The shadow of the word moved. It grew longer. It stretched toward my foot. I stepped back. My heart beat fast. It beat hard. It beat like a hammer.

I am a man of few words. I speak little. I listen much. I watch. I see the details. The crack in the wall. The stain on the floor. The way the light changes. I see the truth in the small things.

This word was a small thing. But it was the biggest thing I had ever seen.

It was an oath.

I knew this. I did not know how I knew. It was in the marrow of my bones. It was in the ink on my hands. It was a promise. A promise to be something else. A promise to leave. A promise to fly.

I wanted to fly.

I had never wanted to fly. I had always wanted to stay. To stay grounded. To stay safe. To stay in the shop. To stay in the dark.

But the gold word called to me. It whispered. It sang. It promised me wings. It promised me light. It promised me an end to the black ink.

I reached for it.

My hand trembled. My fingers shook. I wanted to grab it. I wanted to crush it. I wanted to make it disappear. I knew I should destroy it. I knew it was a trap. I knew it was a lie.

But I did not.

I picked it up.

It was warm. It was heavy. It was alive. It pulsed against my palm. It burned. It hurt. The pain was sharp. The pain was clear. It cut through the numbness. It cut through the fog. I saw myself. I saw the man I was. I saw the man I was not.

I saw the truth.

I was a coward.

I had spent my life hiding. Hiding in the shop. Hiding in the routine. Hiding in the silence. I had run from everything. I had run from love. I had run from risk. I had run from life.

The word was the key. The key to the cage. The key to the sky.

I closed my fist. I held it tight. I felt it sink into my skin. It did not pierce me. It merged with me. It became part of me. It was in my blood. It was in my breath. I was changed.

I stood up.

I looked at the shop. The presses. The papers. The ink. They looked foreign. They looked dead. They looked like a grave.

I walked to the door.

I opened it.

The street was bright. The air was cold. The world was loud. Cars honked. People shouted. Life moved. I moved with it.

I walked.

I walked for hours. I did not stop. I did not look back. I walked into the city. I walked into the crowd. I was one of them. I was no one. I was everyone.

I felt free.

I felt light.

I felt gold.

I walked to the park. I sat on a bench. I looked at the sky. It was blue. It was vast. It was empty. I wanted to jump. I wanted to rise. I wanted to fly.

But I did not.

I stayed on the bench.

I watched the birds. They flew. They soared. They were free. They were light. They were gold.

I wanted to be them.

I closed my eyes.

I saw the shop. I saw the dark. I saw the ink. I saw the word. It was still there. It was on the floor. It was waiting. It was watching.

It was judging.

I opened my eyes.

I was still on the bench.

The sun was setting. The light was orange. The light was red. The light was blood.

I felt a pull. A strong pull. A violent pull. It was not the word. It was the shop. It was the duty. It was the fear.

I was not free.

I was not light.

I was heavy.

I was black.

I stood up.

I walked back.

I walked fast. I walked hard. I walked with anger. I walked with pain. I walked with hate.

I hated the word. I hated the dream. I hated the sky. I hated the birds. I hated myself.

I entered the shop.

The door closed.

The light died.

The darkness rose.

I looked at the floor.

The gold word was gone.

The floor was empty.

The concrete was gray.

The air was still.

I was alone.

I looked at my hands.

They were black.

They were stained.

They were dirty.

I went to the press.

I loaded the paper.

I inked the rollers.

I aligned the type.

I struck.

The sound was loud.

The sound was sharp.

The sound was final.

I printed.

I printed and printed.

I printed and printed.

The pages flew.

The words spread.

The ink flowed.

The dark grew.

I did not stop.

I could not stop.

I had to fill the space.

I had to cover the hole.

I had to bury the light.

I worked until my hands bled.

I worked until my eyes burned.

I worked until the shop was full.

I worked until the world was gone.

I looked at the print.

It was perfect.

It was clean.

It was black.

It was dead.

I smiled.

It was a sad smile.

It was a bitter smile.

It was a final smile.

I was a printer.

I made marks on paper.

I aligned the type.

I inked the rollers.

I struck the press.

I was safe.

I was home.

I was alone.

I was black.

I was gold.

I was nothing.

I was everything.

I was the word.

I was the oath.

I was the lie.

I was the truth.

I was the end.

I was the beginning.

I was the light.

I was the dark.

I was the sky.

I was the earth.

I was the bird.

I was the stone.

I was the man.

I was the shadow.

I was the sun.

I was the moon.

I was the star.

I was the void.

I was the silence.

I was the noise.

I was the life.

I was the death.

I was the love.

I was the hate.

I was the fear.

I was the hope.

I was the dream.

I was the waking.

I was the gold.

I was the ink.

I was the word.

I was the oath.

I was the betrayal.

I was the self.

I was the other.

I was the one.

I was the many.

I was the all.

I was the none.

I was the here.

I was the there.

I was the now.

I was the then.

I was the always.

I was the never.

I was the is.

I was the was.

I was the will.

I was the might.

I was the could.

I was the would.

I was the should.

I was the must.

I was the can.

I was the may.

I was the do.

I was the did.

I was the done.

I was the being.

I was the becoming.

I was the been.

I was the have.

I was the had.

I was the has.

I was the having.

I was the is.

I was the am.

I was the are.

I was the was.

I was the were.

I was the be.

I was the been.

I was the being.

I was the go.

I was the went.

I was the gone.

I was the going.

I was the get.

I was the got.

I was the gotten.

I was the getting.

I was the give.

I was the gave.

I was the given.

I was the giving.

I was the take.

I was the took.

I was the taken.

I was the taking.

I was the make.

I was the made.

I was the making.

I was the do.

I was the did.

I was the done.

I was the doing.

I was the say.

I was the said.

I was the saying.

I was the tell.

I was the told.

I was the telling.

I was the speak.

I was the spoke.

I was the spoken.

I was the speaking.

I was the write.

I was the wrote.

I was the written.

I was the writing.

I was the read.

I was the read.

I was the reading.

I was the hear.

I was the heard.

I was the hearing.

I was the see.

I was the saw.

I was the seen.

I was the seeing.

I was the feel.

I was the felt.

I was the feeling.

I was the think.

I was the thought.

I was the thinking.

I was the know.

I was the knew.

I was the known.

I was the knowing.

I was the believe.

I was the believed.

I was the believing.

I was the want.

I was the wanted.

I was the wanting.

I was the need.

I was the needed.

I was the needing.

I was the love.

I was the loved.

I was the loving.

I was the hate.

I was the hated.

I was the hating.

I was the fear.

I was the feared.

I was the fearing.

I was the hope.

I was the hoped.

I was the hoping.

I was the dream.

I was the dreamed.

I was the dreaming.

I was the wake.

I was the woke.

I was the waking.

I was the sleep.

I was the slept.

I was the sleeping.

I was the live.

I was the lived.

I was the living.

I was the die.

I was the died.

I was the dying.

I was the birth.

I was the born.

I was the birthing.

I was the end.

I was the ended.

I was the ending.

I was the start.

I was the started.

I was the starting.

I was the stop.

I was the stopped.

I was the stopping.

I was the go.

I was the went.

I was the gone.

I was the going.

I was the stay.

I was the stayed.

I was the staying.

I was the leave.

I was the left.

I was the leaving.

I was the come.

I was the came.

I was the coming.

I was the arrive.

I was the arrived.

I was the arriving.

I was the depart.

I was the departed.

I was the departing.

I was the wait.

I was the waited.

I was the waiting.

I was the rush.

I was the rushed.

I was the rushing.

I was the run.

I was the ran.

I was the run.

I was the running.

I was the walk.

I was the walked.

I was the walking.

I was the fly.

I was the flew.

I was the flown.

I was the flying.

I was the swim.

I was the swam.

I was the swum.

I was the swimming.

I was the climb.

I was the climbed.

I was the climbing.

I was the fall.

I was the fell.

I was the fallen.

I was the falling.

I was the rise.

I was the rose.

I was the risen.

I was the rising.

I was the sink.

I was the sank.

I was the sunk.

I was the sinking.

I was the float.

I was the floated.

I was the floating.

I was the sink.

I was the sank.

I was the sunk.

I was the sinking.

I was the break.

I was the broke.

I was the broken.

I was the breaking.

I was the fix.

I was the fixed.

I was the fixing.

I was the build.

I was the built.

I was the building.

I was the destroy.

I was the destroyed.

I was the destroying.

I was the create.

I was the created.

I was the creating.

I was the erase.

I was the erased.

I was the erasing.

I was the write.

I was the wrote.

I was the written.

I was the writing.

I was the print.

I was the printed.

I was the printing.

I was the ink.

I was the inked.

I was the inking.

I was the paper.

I was the papered.

I was the papering.

I was the type.

I was the typed.

I was the typing.

I was the press.

I was the pressed.

I was the pressing.

I was the strike.

I was the struck.

I was the striking.

I was the sound.

I was the sounded.

I was the sounding.

I was the noise.

I was the noised.

I was the noising.

I was the silence.

I was the silenced.

I was the silencing.

I was the voice.

I was the voiced.

I was the voicing.

I was the word.

I was the worded.

I was the wording.

I was the letter.

I was the lettered.

I was the lettering.

I was the mark.

I was the marked.

I was the marking.

I was the sign.

I was the signed.

I was the signing.

I was the symbol.

I was the symbolized.

I was the symbolizing.

I was the meaning.

I was the meant.

I was the meaning.

I was the sense.

I was the sensed.

I was the sensing.

I was the idea.

I was the ideated.

I was the ideating.

I was the thought.

I was the thought.

I was the thinking.

I was the mind.

I was the minded.

I was the minding.

I was the brain.

I was the brainied.

I was the brainying.

I was the soul.

I was the souled.

I was the souling.

I was the spirit.

I was the spirited.

I was the spiriting.

I was the ghost.

I was the ghosted.

I was the ghosting.

I was the angel.

I was the angelled.

I was the angelling.

I was the demon.

I was the demoned.

I was the demoning.

I was the god.

I was the godded.

I was the godding.

I was the devil.

I was the deviled.

I was the deviling.

I was the saint.

I was the sainted.

I was the sainting.

I was the sinner.

I was the sinned.

I was the sinning.

I was the holy.

I was the hallowed.

I was the hallowing.

I was the profane.

I was the profaned.

I was the profaning.

I was the sacred.

I was the sacred.

I was the sacring.

I was the secular.

I was the secularized.

I was the secularizing.

I was the divine.

I was the divined.

I was the divining.

I was the human.

I was the humanized.

I was the humanizing.

I was the animal.

I was the animalized.

I was the animalizing.

I was the plant.

I was the planted.

I was the planting.

I was the stone.

I was the stoned.

I was the stoning.

I was the water.

I was the watered.

I was the watering.

I was the fire.

I was the fired.

I was the firing.

I was the air.

I was the aired.

I was the airing.

I was the earth.

I was the earthed.

I was the earthing.

I was the sky.

I was the skied.

I was the skying.

I was the sea.

I was the sead.

I was the seading.

I was the land.

I was the landed.

I was the landing.

I was the mountain.

I was the mountained.

I was the mountaining.

I was the hill.

I was the hil