3

Mostly it involved standing around looking intimidating and occasionally flexing a muscle or two.

But some nights. Some nights just set people's teeth on edge. They went at each other like animals. You broke them up, sure, like a proper professional, but didn't it just give you a tiny bit of pleasure, too? The hot run of blood through your veins, the burst of adrenaline.

Or maybe a lot of pleasure. Or none at all.

Do you even remember?

Or are you just projecting now? Retelling your life's story after the fact, making shit up?

Sometimes, you think back on your life and wonder: was that really you, back then? That body with its effortlessly beating heart, its warm, flowing blood, its mortal coil: family, friends, profession.

You even had hobbies. They seemed important. Everything did.

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