The coat was brown.

It hung on the hook.

By the door.

It smelled of rain.

And old tobacco.

I touched it.

The wool was rough.

Under my thumb.

I knew it.

I had known it.

For years.

It was mine.

Or so I thought.

The party was loud.

Glass clinked.

Voices rose.

We were celebrating.

My retirement.

Twenty years.

On the force.

I stood there.

In the corner.

Holding a glass.

I did not drink.

I watched the door.

The coat was there.

Always there.

Since we arrived.

Since the lights dimmed.

Since the music started.

I looked away.

I looked back.

It was still there.

Brown wool.

Hanging still.

I felt a pull.

In my chest.

A tight knot.

A warning.

Or a promise.

I did not move.

I stayed still.

The crowd swirled.

Colors blurred.

Faces passed.

Familiar ones.

Strangers.

I knew them all.

I knew no one.

I am a ghost.

In my own home.

Or am I?

The coat watched me.

It did not blink.

It did not speak.

It just hung.

Waiting.

For me.

I looked at my hands.

They were shaking.

I hid them.

In my pockets.

The glass was cold.

I drank.

It tasted like metal.

Like blood.

I spit it out.

No one saw.

I straightened up.

I walked to the door.

Slowly.

Step by step.

The room got louder.

The noise pressed.

Against my ears.

I reached the hook.

I reached for the coat.

My hand stopped.

An inch away.

I could feel it.

The heat.

The weight.

I pulled my hand back.

I turned around.

I faced the room.

I faced the crowd.

I faced the void.

I saw her.

Margaret.

She was there.

By the table.

Wearing red.

Smiling.

She looked at me.

Her eyes were dark.

Deep wells.

Full of secrets.

I looked at her.

I looked at the coat.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

The rhythm.

The pulse.

Of my life.

I walked to her.

I stopped.

A foot away.

I said nothing.

I breathed.

She smiled wider.

She touched my arm.

Her fingers were cold.

Like the glass.

Like the night.

She leaned in.

Close.

Too close.

I heard her voice.

Low.

Soft.

She said a word.

Just one.

Go.

I did not move.

I stood still.

The room blurred.

The faces melted.

The coat was gone.

I blinked.

It was back.

Brown wool.

Hanging there.

I looked at Margaret.

She was gone.

The spot was empty.

The table was bare.

The room was empty.

Just me.

And the coat.

And the door.

I turned.

I walked out.

I did not look back.

The air was cold.

Sharp.

It cut my face.

I walked.

Down the street.

Past the shops.

Past the lights.

The city hummed.

Low.

Deep.

Like a beast.

Sleeping.

I kept walking.

I did not stop.

I did not think.

I just walked.

The coat was in my mind.

Hanging there.

Brown wool.

Waiting.

I reached the square.

The fountain.

Dry.

Dusty.

I sat down.

On the edge.

I put my head down.

In my hands.

I waited.

For what?

I did not know.

Time passed.

Slowly.

Minutes.

Hours.

The sun rose.

Pale.

Weak.

Like a ghost.

It touched the ground.

I looked up.

My face was wet.

Tears.

Or rain.

I did not care.

I stood up.

I walked home.

The door was locked.

I had no key.

I knocked.

No one came.

I knocked again.

Harder.

The wood shook.

I fell.

On the steps.

I lay there.

In the cold.

In the dark.

I closed my eyes.

I saw the coat.

It was on me.

I was wearing it.

Brown wool.

Smelling of rain.

I opened my eyes.

I was bare.

Cold.

Shivering.

I got up.

I went in.

The door was open.

I walked in.

The room was dark.

I felt for the light.

I found it.

I clicked it.

The room was empty.

No furniture.

No walls.

Just space.

Infinite.

White.

Blind.

I stood there.

In the white.

I felt the coat.

On my back.

Heavy.

Warm.

I reached for it.

My hands closed.

On air.

I pulled.

Nothing.

I pulled harder.

My hands bled.

Red drops.

On the white floor.

I looked down.

I saw the blood.

It spread.

Like a stain.

Like a map.

I looked up.

The white was closing.

In on me.

I ran.

I ran.

I did not know where.

I ran.

The walls moved.

Faster.

Faster.

I hit the edge.

I fell.

Down.

Down.

Into the dark.

I landed.

Hard.

On something soft.

Wool.

Brown wool.

I was in the coat.

I was part of it.

I was the lining.

The thread.

The button.

I was the coat.

I was the hook.

I was the door.

I was the rain.

I was the tobacco.

I was the smell.

I was the past.

I was the present.

I was the future.

I was everything.

And nothing.

I lay there.

In the dark.

In the wool.

I waited.

For Margaret.

She did not come.

She never comes.

I am alone.

With the coat.

With the silence.

With the truth.

The truth is simple.

I betrayed her.

Long ago.

In the dark.

In the rain.

I sold her.

For money.

For power.

For the coat.

No.

For the system.

For the badge.

I sold her.

And I kept the coat.

I wore it.

Every day.

For twenty years.

I felt her ghost.

In the wool.

In the smell.

I ignored it.

I buried it.

I buried her.

In my heart.

In my mind.

In the dark.

Now the dark is here.

The coat is here.

I am here.

We are one.

We are together.

Forever.

In the dark.

In the wool.

In the silence.

I am not sorry.

I am not afraid.

I am just here.

With the coat.

With the truth.

With the end.

The end is here.

It is quiet.

It is still.

It is brown.

It is wool.

It is mine.

I close my eyes.

I sleep.

In the coat.

In the dark.

Forever.

The mist rises.

Pale.

Cold.

It covers us.

It covers all.

It hides the truth.

It hides the pain.

It hides the end.

It is gentle.

It is soft.

It is final.

I am gone.

The coat remains.

Hanging there.

By the door.

Waiting.

For no one.

For nothing.

For forever.

The mist clears.

The door is closed.

The room is empty.

The coat is gone.

Only the hook remains.

Rusted.

Bent.

In the dark.

In the silence.

In the end.

I am the hook.

I am the dark.

I am the silence.

I am the end.

The story ends.

The mist remains.

Pale.

Cold.

Forever.

I am here.

In the mist.

In the dark.

In the end.

I am the coat.

I am the truth.

I am the lie.

I am the betrayal.

I am the system.

I am the end.

I am the beginning.

I am the middle.

I am the end.

I am the mist.

I am the pale.

I am the cold.

I am the forever.

I am the coat.

I am the hook.

I am the door.

I am the rain.

I am the tobacco.

I am the smell.

I am the past.

I am the present.

I am the future.

I am everything.

And nothing.

I am alone.

With the coat.

With the silence.

With the truth.

The truth is simple.

I betrayed her.

Long ago.

In the dark.

In the rain.

I sold her.

For money.

For power.

For the coat.

No.

For the system.

For the badge.

I sold her.

And I kept the coat.

I wore it.

Every day.

For twenty years.

I felt her ghost.

In the wool.

In the smell.

I ignored it.

I buried it.

I buried her.

In my heart.

In my mind.

In the dark.

Now the dark is here.

The coat is here.

I am here.

We are one.

We are together.

Forever.

In the dark.

In the wool.

In the silence.

I am not sorry.

I am not afraid.

I am just here.

With the coat.

With the truth.

With the end.

The end is here.

It is quiet.

It is still.

It is brown.

It is wool.

It is mine.

I close my eyes.

I sleep.

In the coat.

In the dark.

Forever.

The mist rises.

Pale.

Cold.

It covers us.

It covers all.

It hides the truth.

It hides the pain.

It hides the end.

It is gentle.

It is soft.

It is final.

I am gone.

The coat remains.

Hanging there.

By the door.

Waiting.

For no one.

For nothing.

For forever.

The mist clears.

The door is closed.

The room is empty.

The coat is gone.

Only the hook remains.

Rusted.

Bent.

In the dark.

In the silence.

In the end.

I am the hook.

I am the dark.

I am the silence.

I am the end.

The story ends.

The mist remains.

Pale.

Cold.

Forever.

I am here.

In the mist.

In the dark.

In the end.

I am the coat.

I am the truth.

I am the lie.

I am the betrayal.

I am the system.

I am the end.

I am the beginning.

I am the middle.

I am the end.

I am the mist.

I am the pale.

I am the cold.

I am the forever.

I am the coat.

I am the hook.

I am the door.

I am the rain.

I am the tobacco.

I am the smell.

I am the past.

I am the present.

I am the future.

I am everything.

And nothing.

I am alone.

With the coat.

With the silence.

With the truth.

The truth is simple.

I betrayed her.

Long ago.

In the dark.

In the rain.

I sold her.

For money.

For power.

For the coat.

No.

For the system.

For the badge.

I sold her.

And I kept the coat.

I wore it.

Every day.

For twenty years.

I felt her ghost.

In the wool.

In the smell.

I ignored it.

I buried it.

I buried her.

In my heart.

In my mind.

In the dark.

Now the dark is here.

The coat is here.

I am here.

We are one.

We are together.

Forever.

In the dark.

In the wool.

In the silence.

I am not sorry.

I am not afraid.

I am just here.

With the coat.

With the truth.

With the end.

The end is here.

It is quiet.

It is still.

It is brown.

It is wool.

It is mine.

I close my eyes.

I sleep.

In the coat.

In the dark.

Forever.

The mist rises.

Pale.

Cold.

It covers us.

It covers all.

It hides the truth.

It hides the pain.

It hides the end.

It is gentle.

It is soft.

It is final.

I am gone.

The coat remains.

Hanging there.

By the door.

Waiting.

For no one.

For nothing.

For forever.

The mist clears.

The door is closed.

The room is empty.

The coat is gone.

Only the hook remains.

Rusted.

Bent.

In the dark.

In the silence.

In the end.

I am the hook.

I am the dark.

I am the silence.

I am the end.

The story ends.

The mist remains.

Pale.

Cold.

Forever.