Get ready.

teh awekk of tearas and whsiket

uive;s b een adirnkinf prettea yu heasvily for athep ast aweek sbut cany ouerally blawme me i mean llok at me aloohk at m ylife

whhat have i a ever done for anyoane/

whaet ofh ave i ever sdone to MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

wwaht do i have lto lvive for?

nothing.

The Mistake

After Lady dumped, I did something stupid. Namely, for the first time in my life, I got drunk. Or I think I did. I don't remember starting drinking, anything that happened while I was drunk or very much of the past eleven days at all. According to the cops who woke me up this morning, I got drunk, went over to Lady's house and started begging her to take me back. Then, when she denied me, I got aggressive and Lady's new boyfriend had to come out and beat the crap out of me. After that, I went to the offices of the newspaper where I work and...urinated on the front door. Sufficed to say, I've lost my job too. I was so content for a while there. Now it's all gone. What did I do to deserve this?

Oh dear, Andy got in a little trouble over the holidays. Don't worry, readers, he'll be back in a couple of days. Silly little kid.

The Worst Christmas Ever

Lady dumped me. She called a while ago, saying she was sick of how much time I was spending looking for Sophie and that she wasn't going to put up with being ignored. I feel like an idiot. How could I neglect here like that? She was crying so hard and it sounds like she's already found someone to replace me. There was some man whispering to her in the background.

I can't believe I've fucked up the only adult relationship I've ever had. I'm such a fucking failure.

Still think you can get away with your fuckery, Pankaja? Think again. Have a Merry fucking Christmas.

The Pursuit

I found a member of the writer's circle who knew the old lady and found out that she lives in a gated community in the suburbs. I tracked her down there and, using my job as a cover, asked her if she knew anything about Sophie's disappearance. She acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. I have to admit that if I didn't know she was lying ahead of time, I nearly would have been fooled.

I waited around after talking to her and when she left the estate, I followed her through the snow. I followed her a good way across the city, then she disappeared down an alleyway and when I pursued her, she was nowhere to be seen. What really worries me is that the alleyway was a dead end and there were no doors into the adjacent buildings, no steps or stairs.

Ever more questions. Never more answers.