Cocktails served over ice. Pheasant under glass. Blistered fingers twirling across a piano in the background. Eyes darted and swayed around the room restlessly. Candles dimmed and flared in rhythmic succession. Do you remember the flash of neurons when we first met? Sibilant, she slipped from my arms, splashing back into the pool from which I’d pulled her. It was a cool night and I stood there a while, swearing, before I mounted my horse and rode off. Enemies on the far-off frontlines whistled in the dark. Crows descended from the night sky, bearing to me a banner of violet flame. It settled around me like a crown, mingled with my breath, and soon the night spoke directly through me, to me. Somewhere under dark waters and behind tightly drawn curtains, teeth flashed. A cool chemical rain fell from the chandelier under which we stood. Javelins erupted from my heart. From the holes they punctured around the room issued steady streams of sweet wild honey. Snakes slithered through it and turned to steam. Lockets broke off noble necklines and decades of memories plunged to their deaths. Ice crept inward from the water’s edge.