It feels good. · 9:59pm Oct 21st, 2023
... To finally be back in a state of flow. I feel pretty good about life, in general, this time around and with how things in NGW are going along, so I felt obligated to get back to work today.
Next thing I knew I wrote about 5,000 words on the same day I published the last chapter, and I had written about another 5,000 words today.
Hot damn. 
In any case, I feel like a sneak peek is in order for what I am cooking for those who want more to come:
“Sunshine?” she simply asks.
“I don’t…” I paused again. Half-baked thoughts swirl around in vivid mental images.
I shook my head violently to suppress the images.
“Sunshine are you okay?”
It’s no use. No matter how hard I try, the thoughts are now formulating mass.
They dance around long enough for the mind to fixate on a few at a time.
Memories of bones being snapped into place again from Vanhoover, nearly dying to a Panzer.
Memories of a pulpous, fleshy crevice that used to be a skull, pulverized beyond recognition.
Memories of betrayal as I stole the last breath of life from soldiers choking on gas.
Memories of Tatarus on Earth.
Warmth suddenly encompasses my being. My sight returns to me as I blink the tragic memories away. Night Light had abandoned her chair and drink in exchange for embracing me, long slender hooves wrapping around me in a protective hold.
I took several deep breaths, trying to control my breathing and my thoughts. The scent of feminine sweat, lavender, and chocolate invaded my nostrils, grounding me in the reality I was in. No scent of sulfur, gunpowder, or blood remained.
Night Light didn’t say a word. She was content with embracing me. A few tears threatened to spill over. I blinked hard several times to drown them back down the ducts.
A few slipped through the cracks, sliding down cheeks, but no sob came. A wet sniffle from my nose revealed my lack of composure to the world.
Again, Night Light was content with the silence. Hesitantly I returned the gesture to lock hooves around her, holding the warmth between her legs and in her breath. Savoring the quiet moment.
“Feel better?” she mumbles in my coat.
“Yeah.” I tightened the grip around her.
A few more moments of awkward silence pass. Eventually, she retreats from the embrace and gingerly sits back down. A look of worry etched on her features.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t be,” she answers, “I get it.”
I nodded. She gently slides the cup of hot cocoa over to me, nodding at me all the while.
I grasped the handle of the mug and sniffed it carefully. The scent of cane sugar and chocolate drowned out all the other senses in the world. I closed my eyes as I took a sip and savored every sensation that stimulated the taste buds on my tongue.
It was warm; a perfect temperature to enjoy without hesitation.
It was delicious.
A sigh is heard from my nostrils as I exhaled slowly after the first sip. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“Are you okay?”
I had my mouth open to speak.
Yeah, I’m okay.
… was what I wanted to say.
In reality, the words stopped dead in my throat as I sat there, jaw agape, looking a little dumb.
My brow furrowed. I stare down at the mug now in my hooves as the dark beverage sits half-empty.
Night Light’s question rings again and again in my mind.
Are you okay?
It’s like a snap in my neurons. A fiery bolt of lightning, as quick as light itself, traveled through my brain. More memories, this time very recent.
How I sat upon a cloud looking at a sunset.
How goons showed up and took us away from our homes.
How I had to forcefully relive Tartarus on Earth to prevent it from happening again.
How the responsibility of this monumental task seemingly falls onto my shoulders alone.
How I mourned for the lives lost and for the decades it would take to heal the damage.
How I reunited with Night Light after a day of tormentful remembrance.
The emotional whiplash of everything caught up to me in a singular thought.
Are you okay?
“No,” I answered honestly, for the first time since she asked me that question, “I am not.”
Silence. A cold breeze envelopes me from one of the windows outside. The somnolent scent of cocoa sends shivers down my spine. When I look around, I am still in my home.
It feels like I am back in that room again…
