by Kamal Aggarwal, HSI Student
Florence Ace thrived on urgency. Decisions were made in a heartbeat, desires fulfilled without hesitation. He was domineering, materialistic, chasing pleasures that always slipped through his fingers.
But tonight was different. Alone, far from his family, he lay in bed, his head pounding with unbearable pain. Sweat dripped from his brow, the heat suffocating him, clinging to his skin like a relentless force. His feet burned with an intensity he couldn’t endure, kicking off the bed sheet in a desperate bid for relief. Yet, the fire inside him only grew stronger.
His gaze landed on the mirror across the room. What he saw made his breath hitch. His once-thick mane, dark and commanding, had thinned dramatically—bald patches creeping across his scalp like secrets he had long ignored. His nails, once resilient, curled in silent protest, brittle and warped. His veins, once discreet, bulged and twisted beneath his skin, a network of rebellion. Even as his body crumbled, his mind refused to slow. The lovers, the indulgences, the reckless pursuit of pleasure—it had always been enough. Hadn’t it?
But tonight, the fever within him whispered a truth he could no longer deny: Desire had consumed him, but it would never truly satisfy him.
