Lifeline

Every night, Patrick dreams his own death. This is one of the first things I learned about him -- one of our earliest conversations. The means differ, but it's most often a gun. Sometimes he knows the attacker; other times not. I had forgotten; it had slipped my mind until I wished him pleasant dreams tonight, and he thanked me very seriously.

He and Valancy are sleeping in the other room; I am facing one of the worst bouts of insomnia I've had in a while. It's been more than two days since I last slept, and still I am full of energy and wakefulness.

It is in me to wonder if this is not a sign of something larger; Tom and Dee have been having similar problems, from what I understand. Then again, I see patterns in everything; it is both my greatest skill and my greatest weakness.