force of habit.

I wish I could recall the question.
Something about a time period.
Time period of what?
Or did you ask how much longer?
How much longer what?
———
I was in the yellow desert once, kicking up dust and barely breathing. You were with me, and you were much younger. You wanted me to teach you how to fish. Fish in the desert? We simply walked on.
———
Then I perished, and you were left with my doubts.
You looked in your books—searched for answers.
And I don’t think we ever figured each other out.
Or you, your answers.
———
By the roadside lies an abandoned backpack filled with dirt, fragments of excuses, and your tired, tired eyes. And all the while the two of us hoping this had never taken place at all.