MR. BORN TO LOSE

10 - Burnt Norton

"Time past and time future
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present."

By learning one's history, he knows he's turning back into time in one way or another. By learning one's history, he remembers a memory that once was shared in the past, he holds a piece of the past for himself in the present. Though, memories are not cohesive. They can be exaggerated, they can be silenced. They don't exist in any particular shape, they can be whatever they want. Sometimes, they also pour themselves onto the present.

"...That's my fucking book." Sam exclaims. No, this isn't the time for hallucinations. That man isn't real, he's just a hallucina–

"Holy shit, that is your book." Gabriel says.

"Wait, you can see him?" He asks. "Well, yeah, he's not a devil. I can see him." Gabriel exclaims.

"And i can see clearly that that's my fucking book!" Sam sets off, walking towards the guy.

"Where is he going?" Dante asks the younger, with Clara wrapped in his arms, screaming pleas to be let out. "To that guy over there"

"Wait, holy shit, is that his book?" Dante questions.

—

Sam's steps leave a dirt echo, small squeaks of atoms being pushed down rings like flowing water. Was he still hallucinating? Gabriel clearly saw the man, is he real? Why was he in his dream? Why is he here now? Even as he nears the man, he couldn't, or doesn't register his face. The man slowly steps back. "Excuse me, but that's my book..?" Sam inquires.

Instead of answering, the man slowly backs into a hallway, before walking slowly, and ultimately running away.

"Hey!" Sam yells. He follows him down the halls, occasionally bumping onto the busy crowd. He tries to call out for the man, but he never looks back again. Clearly, the gathering was just starting again.

The man walks into a room, Sam follows suit, not realizing how crowded it was.

"Excuse me- Excuse–" He manages to push some people away. But no matter how much he pushed, three times their quantity seemed to appear out of nowhere, setting him back.

A cough echoes through the room. "Welcome back, everyone. It is, of course, the peak of our gathering event." Mia raises her glass. "Welcome to our ballroom. Grab yourself a pair of hands, and prepare for the waltz."

No. No fucking way this is happening right now. Sam continues to push through the long amphitheater. Before long, he starts to find himself suffocating in the mass as they dance to classical music. Classical music, his ass. If he were to stay in that room for much longer it would've become his funeral dirge. He knocks over a few guests here and there, getting insults and scoffs.

—

"Sam! Where are you?" Dante shouts, his hands full of kids, with Clara on his shoulders and Gabriel by his side. They also shout for their dear older brother. As they pass the ballroom, they see poor Sam, stuck like a dying fish in the air, trying to make his way out of there.

"I swear to god..." Dante sighs, before putting down Clara. "Don't let her run away." He asks Gabriel, before entering in the ball himself.

—

Sam doesn't manage to stop the crowd, instead he gets a pair of hands for his own, a lady's. "Eufemia?" Sam asks. "Good evening, handsome. Care for a dance?" She giggles. Her dress, black and patterned like the evening flowers spurting all their beauty to compliment her body. Sam grabs her hand, and they go in the crowd. Their feet follow the beat of the song, even though all Sam manages is to awkwardly follow the girl's step.