To ease Alex’s anxiety, many remedies were trialled.

Neither medication nor meditation proved fruitful; still he agonised over his eventual demise.

A doctor displaying a shaded area upon an x-ray changed things. With a finite amount of time, the finishing line was truly in sight.

Strangely, Alex finally felt free.

Steven Holding lives in the United Kingdom. Most recently, his work has appeared in CTRL ALT DELETE from Black Ink Fiction and DARK MOMENTS YEAR THREE from Black Hare Press. You can follow his work at www.stevenholding.co.uk.