vincere noctem

where?

The cold was the only thing that stabilized the boy.

It made him feel real, it brought him back to reality, and tore him away from his thoughts. It leeched into his skin from the concrete beneath him and it made his bones feel stiff, but at the same time it made his skin hot and his heart race. Reality was an eye opener for Tyler, the way the snow touched the ground, and how not even a single car that passed stopped to ask him if he was okay. All the little thoughts in Tyler's brain were drug back and all the little details about life were brought forward.

It wasn't until he realized that he shoulders and ass were numb from the cold snow did he even consider getting up and going inside. He wanted life's realities to exist without a cloud that was his thought covering them, but that's not how Tyler's life worked. Overthinking was his specialty, and he dreaded every moment of living inside his own head.

He slowly rose from his position and stretched, letting his joints warm with friction, and he moved towards the house in which his thoughts would overtake again. As he entered the threshold of the house, he realized He hated the winter but loved the cold. With winter came seasonal depression and bland landscapes, but also the bittersweet sense of cold. He slid his shoes off and hung his jacket on a hook by the door before he made it into the home. He sat on the couch and turned on the tv, the news flashing across the screen in which Tyler watched absentmindedly until he saw the face of the boy.

The face of the boy that went missing from his school a few years ago, but this face was more mature now, 16 at most. He quickly read the titles, "Missing Columbus boy spotted in near by town, no other traces found"

Tyler didn't know him in school, but he knew his name, Joshua Dun. They were in the 8th grade when he went missing, and Tyler only knew him because he played baseball and hung out with some of his basketball buddies.

Tyler pondered the boy. He wondered what happened, why he went missing. Was he kidnapped? Did he run away? He ran through a list of possibilities in his brain and the causes behind them before his thoughts were interrupted by a gurgling in his stomach.

He groaned slightly as he got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen counter where he found a notepad and a pen.
"Mom,
I'll be back soon, walked to get food.
-Ty"

There were various places within walking distance of the house, and Tyler preferred to walk in the cold, the bitterness of it touching his skin. He slipped on his shoes and jacket and quickly made it out of the house, locking it and making sure he had his phone and his wallet. As he made it down the side walk, the light layer of snow crunched beneath his feet and the wind whipped through his hair. Anything sounded good, so he settled on the café on the main road.

A car pulled onto the street Tyler was walking on and he only diverted his thoughts when it neared him and stopped just ahead of him. As he passed the window opened to reveal a man in his late 40s, possibly younger.

"Do you need a ride somewhere, sweetheart?"

A shiver shot down Tyler's spine at the pet name.

"No thank you, I don't have much father to walk. I'll be fine." He replied quietly, but still loud enough for the man to hear.

But all Tyler remembered next was the cold snow beneath his body, a small voice whispering "I'm sorry" in his ear, and cut up images of watching street lights pass behind tinted windows.