The lake glistens a dark red from the sun that is almost all the way down by now, I can hear the birds faintly chipping and the buzz of the cicadas even though most of the sounds are drowned out by the loud sound of my own thoughts. As I feel the hot summer breeze brush against my cold body, I think about the awful stench of rotten meat that has now completely filled the air, a smell that I’ve grown accustomed to, but still a wretched smell nonetheless. I reach into my pocket to find a pack of cherry gum, it feels hard and gross like it had been in my pant pocket for weeks if not more, I unwrap it and start to knaw down on the gross chewy mess that at this point can barely be called gum, the cherry flavor is strong and slightly minty in a way where it consumes your whole mouth, it’s bad but I don’t spit it out for the grossness is quite comforting compared to the thoughts that are surrounding my head.