Morning Dog Walk

The Morning Dog Walk

I took the dog around the park like I always do, dodging dog shit like landmines in a war zone. Routine, simple, mindless. The kind of activity that tricks you into thinking the world is stable. Somewhere in the middle of it, I sent a video to my brothers on WhatsApp—just my usual incoherent morning ramblings, the kind of thing they probably roll their eyes at before scrolling back to their memes and bad jokes. But walking home, something shifted.

I felt strange, like the edges of reality were peeling back ever so slightly, just enough to make the world feel unreal. The air seemed thicker, heavier—each breath like trying to suck syrup through a straw. My stomach still throbbed, that dull ache spreading outward like an oil slick. Was it the biscuits? The morning? Or just another reminder that life itself is a fragile balancing act, one missed step away from chaos?