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Requiem’s DesirePage 9-10
Vol. 131 No.5 Feb. 1, ‘18
February SAB EventsPage 2
Changes in Greek Leadership
Page 4
Change in the Edu. DepartmentPage 5-6
State of the UnionPage 7
Messenger 2 staff stance Feb. 1, 2018
ABOUT US
EDITORIAL POLICY
CONTACT US
The Messenger encourages letters to the editor. Authors should include name, address, and phone number, though names may be withheld from the publication.
Letters to the editor can be dropped off at Room 12 in the lower level of Presser Hall or by the mailroom in the Pihlblad Memorial Union. Alternatively, emails can be sent to [email protected].
The Messenger reserves the right to reject or edit letters. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the signed author. They are not necessarily those of the Bethany College administration, faculty, staff, student body or The Messenger staff.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at [email protected]. To directly contact the head editors, email [email protected] or [email protected]. We can be reached via mail at 335 E Swensson St, Lindsborg, KS 67456.
The Messenger has been serving Bethany College since 1892 and is an independently run newspaper. The Messenger is entirely produced by Bethany College students who are deeply committed to providing relevant, acurate, and timely information to the Bethany College and Lindsborg communities.
Front Page Photo Credit - Linzi Garcia
THE MESSENGER STAFF
Editor-in-Chief: Kerri HenneManaging Editor: Linzi Garcia Treasurer: Ivan PerezNews & Feature Editor: Alyssa WinterfeldOpinions Editor: Landon SlipkeArts & Entertainment Editor: Carly RoseySports Editor: Tyler CarterLayout Editor: Sam ReedSocial Media Manager: Avery HolmesAdvisors: Rebecca Miller and Frank Ballew
FEBUARY SAB EVENTS
Look for this guy!Hint: He is hiding somewhere on the following pages... and there is only one of him!Good Luck!
Angie KeilhauerLive Music!February 6th
Location: The PitTime: 9:00 PMNote: Tater Tot Bar!
Sock Give AwayFebruary 10th
Location: Main Entrance of the GymTime: Men’s Basketball Game Halftime
Stuff-A-BearFebruary 12th
Location: The PitTime: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Mike SuperMagician
February 28th
Location: BurnettTime: 9:00 PM
Feb. 1, 2018 News & Features Messenger 3
What the New Year May Entail for You
As we start the 2018 year, ask yourself one simple question: what do you have to look forward to? Whether it is more family time, extra outdoor hiking, or time to better yourself physically, emotionally, or spiritually, a new year means you can start over fresh. Maybe you want to meet new people, try out a new hobby, or explore the world more — a new year opens up the possibil-ity for you to redo or try anything. Let go of the past and welcome all the new that this chance has opened up and offered you. Do not be
Katie [email protected]
So far this New Year, I have chosen to go to an aquarium and eat a huge, greasy hamburger from Eskimo Joe’s!
afraid to stand out or stretch beyond your comfort zone. 2017 is long gone, and now you have been given the op-portunity to reinvent yourself and even further your suc-cessful path from last year. Just remember you were born to stand out, not blend in, so try something new and exciting and challenge your-self daily. You will find a list of possible ideas to try this new year below this article. What should your new year look like? Well, for some people, their year may consist of constant gym vis-its and health appointments. Other people may decide to
travel, pick up where their schooling left off, or even become a professional chef. No one, except you, knows where this new year will take you. Do not fear change and curiosity this year, do not let minor setbacks keep you from living a great life and having a great year. So choose to go on that week-end retreat, enjoy that choco-latey dessert, and forget those calories, dance that last dance, and, most of all, enjoy yourself! There are only 333 days left in 2018; what will you choose to do with them?
Ideas for the New Year:
• Take an online class about something you are interested in
• Go for more hikes• Get a puppy• Eat a strange food you
have never tried• Take more pictures• Make a scrapbook with
those pictures you take• Go to the movies alone• Go on a spa day• Watch Disney movies all
day in your pajamas• Go to a concert• Travel the country or
world!• Become a pop star (I
know some of you have this hidden talent)
• Become a chef• Work out more• Eat healthier• Eat that chocolate cake• Go to the zoo• Learn to draw and doodle• Get better grades
And the list goes on and on! It is all up to you! Happy new year, and good luck!
Feb. 1, 2018News & FeaturesMessenger 4
Saxing During Interterm
Those of you who have done interterm know it’s a strange time. You take one class that is supposed to be fourteen weeks, but do it in three. Your schedule is all kinds of messed up because, although you only have one class, it’s accelerated. Your friends are taking different classes, so their weird schedules don’t match up with yours. Plus, not everyone is back on campus yet. But, despite the craziness, it’s also a good time to get stuff done. I think music education major Chris-tian Cooper thought that too, as he decided it was when his senior saxophone recital would be. The downside: it was a smaller audience than anticipated. Cooper played on the evening of January 13th at Messiah Lutheran Church. It was good weather, despite it being in the middle of the winter season. Alongside of him was his accompanist Priscilla Hearn from Hutch-inson, who Cooper says “is just as much of a performer as the senior giving the re-cital.” If you’ve been keep-ing up with the senior mu-
Carly [email protected]
sic majors, you’ll notice that most of them have their recitals in the Pearson Chapel. However, Cooper decided that Messiah Lu-theran was the best fit for him and his instrument. He says, “I preferred the space in the sanctuary because the acoustics were exactly what I was looking for.” It’s a good thing he did that, too, because the first piece he played had many silent parts to it that added to the obscure feeling the composer wanted. The music that Cooper played was classified as “20th Century Music.” It’s not your grandpa’s kind of music, and it probably doesn’t fit into the category of music that pops into your mind when you think about instrumental music. Cooper states that it’s the type of mu-sic with pieces written spe-cifically for the saxophone, and also the chimes: his fa-vorite kind of music. I could tell that this statement was true from the passion and in-tensity he played with on that night. The piece, when paired with his talent and passion, made for a wonderful perfor-mance.
Photo Credit: Alyssa Winterfeld
Bethany College Greek Life expects many exciting chang-es to happen this semester. One of the biggest changes is the transition to a new Greek Council President. Dylan Collette, a sophomore and member of Gamma Kappa Alpha, was elected to replace former president, Alyssa Winterfeld, last December. This is not the only change in leadership in the Greek system. Each of our active organizations have elected new presidents that will serve from this spring and into next fall. As a new wave of Greeks step into leader-ship roles, those who have served their time get to take a step back. This semester, the Greeks look forward to another spring recruitment season, with rush week be-ginning February 18th. Be sure to look out for posters and social media updates about when/where rush parties will be held! For many, “going Greek” has been valuable to their over-all experience at Bethany College. It’s a great way to make new friends and get involved on campus.
Also, in late April of this semester, the Bethany Greeks will celebrate Greek Week and will provide a chance for the Greeks to showcase their competitive sides with different events every night of the week. The Greek organizations are also looking to host numerous events throughout the semes-ter, so be on the lookout for those! Follow @BCGreek on Twitter and like our Face-book page, Bethany College Greek Life, to stay updated on everything Greek!
Changes in Greek LeadershipAlyssa [email protected]
Feb. 1, 2018 Messenger 5News & Features
Catalysts for Change: Education DepartmentErin [email protected]
The Education Depart-ment has undergone major changes this school year. The department ended the last school year with the loss of two professors and began this one by adding two new professors. Not only does the department have new faces, but it is also paving the way for student teaching experiences. The Education De-partment and Bethany Col-lege had to say farewell to dear professors Marlysue Holmquist and Gail Kozem. However, they gained two great professors in return. At the start of the 2017-2018 school year, Bethany Col-lege and the Education De-partment opened their doors to professor Alan English and professor Michelle Bar-reiro. Professor English is the coordinator of Secondary Education in the Education Department. He graduated from Bethany College in 2006, where he received a bachelor’s degree in social studies education. He taught American and world his-tory at Salina Central for ten years. Professor Barreiro is the coordinator of elemen-
tary education in the Education Department. She received a master’s degree in education from Friends University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kansas State Uni-versity. She worked in Hutchinson USD 308, Clearwater USD 264, and Central Christian College of Kansas. When asking Dr. Norland, chair of the Education Department, how she enjoys hav-ing new faces on her staff, she responded, “I feel very fortunate to have Profes-sor Michelle Barreiro and Professor Alan English as part of our education team. They are a great addition to our faculty and have brought enthusiasm, experience, and new ideas to the classrooms and our teaching program. We are having a lot of fun making new connections and building relationships with our Bethany students!” The Education De-partment at Bethany Col-lege is also changing the education world in the state of Kansas. The KPTP (Kan-sas Performance Teaching
Portfolio), a nightmare for student teachers, is being replaced by a new program called The Bethany College Teacher Work Sample, or TWS, for short. When students are nearing the end of their time in the education program, they must student teach. This is the most exciting yet stressful time of their schooling. The student teachers go into the class-room with four years’ worth of schooling that has pre-pared them for this moment
— the moment that they are going to be in the classroom, putting their skills to the test! However, the four years of schooling did not prepare the students teachers for the KPTP (Kansas Performance Teaching Portfolio). If you are a friend, relative, or have simply been around someone while they were student teaching, you have probably heard of the KPTP. You probably heard how time-consuming it was, how the graphs wouldn’t fit,
2017 Fall Student TeachersBack row: Jessica Armijo, Lexi Pauls, Stephanie Frost, Anna Crawford, Dustin Wells. Front row: Kristen Hanks, Erin Newport, Sabrina Patrick, Taryn Har-gash, Lauren Anderson and Emily Berry. Photo cred: Dr. Norland
Messenger 6 News & Features Feb. 1, 2018
Catalysts for Change: Cont’dErin [email protected]
how the tables were shifting when they were not sup-posed to, or just how the student teacher would rather be doing anything besides that darn KPTP. Taryn Har-gash recently completed her student teacher experience in fall of 2017. When she was asked what the most stressful thing she had to deal with during her student teaching, she said “it was the KPTP.” She went on to add, “I spent more time working the KPTP than writing my lessons plans for school. The KPTP has parts that could be beneficial to student teach-ers if it was not so inten-sive.” So, how do we find a balance between letting the student teacher learn in real-life scenarios while ensuring they know how to differenti-ate the teaching styles? The Education Department is taking big steps to answer this question. Dr. Norland began making changes for the student teaching experience this 2018 spring semester. When asked what made the education department change the status quo of us-
ing the KPTP, her response was fascinating. She stated, “The Bethany Education Department Team conducted research and sent out sur-veys to cooperating teachers, administrators, and gradu-ates, and sought input from the Teacher Education Co-ordinator committee and the Education Advisory Council during the 2017 fall se-mester. We met with KSDE consultants in December to review and approve our re-search. But, the most valu-able input came from the 2017 fall student teach-ers. They were truly the instigators of this change. The data clearly showed that a new TWS was needed — one that would align with Bethany’s education program and conceptual framework, and would be more rel-evant and less stressful during the student teach-ing experience.” Kyle Gfeller is currently student teach-ing and piloting the new program that Bethany is using. When asked how he felt about the new program, he said, “I’m excited about it. I think it will make us all
better educators in the long run.” He went on to say, “the most beneficial thing about the new program is that we are graded/evaluated by pro-fessors or doctors who we know. We get instant feed-back on what we can do bet-ter in the classroom.” When asked how he reacted once he found out that he did not have to write the KPTP, he responded, “I was pretty excited. I have heard from other students and my family
(who are also in teaching) about how big of a night-mare the KPTP is and how much stress it caused them. So overall, I was pretty stoked.” Students are excited about the new program; it seems to be more relevant to the situations they are facing daily in the classroom. Will the Bethany College Education Depart-ment be the new standard for student teaching as we know it? Only time will tell.
2018 Spring Student TeachersBack row: Kyle Silva, Christian Cooper, and Landon Slipke. Front row: Noah Smucker, Kyle Gfeller, Sydney Johnson and Bianca Adams.
Photo cred: Dr. Norland
Feb. 1, 2018 News & Features Messenger 7
A Few Words on the State of the Union AddressKaylie [email protected]
Prior to Trump’s speech, the White House released an outline of what viewers could expect during this political event. That response outlined Trump’s prepa-ration in four points: So, how did Mr. Trump meet these four points? “Together, we are building a SAFE, STRONG, and PROUD America. “We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day’s work; we want every child to be safe in their home at night, and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love. “Just as I promised the Ameri-can people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the big-gest tax cuts and reform in Ameri-can history. “Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the Mid-dle Class and small businesses” (CBSNews). On January 30th, Donald Trump gave his first State of the Union Address as president of the United States. If you missed the address, need a recap, or chose to boycott it, here is what happened.Donald Trump finished his ad-dress by talking about freedom and its place in America, current and historical. “It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly 250 years ago gave birth to a special place called America…But it was home to an incredible
people with a revolutionary idea: that they could rule themselves. That they could chart their own destiny. And that, together, they could light up the world… That is what our country has always been about” (Washington Post). These quotes are in relation to “building a safe, strong, and proud Ameri-ca.” That is, if you are not an im-migrant trying to gain legal status in America, are anything other than a person of color, or part of another marginalized population, then America will stay safe for you. Trump’s Administration has recently been focusing on revok-ing DACA (which protects illegal minors from immediate deporta-tion, put in place by the Obama Administration in 2012). Donald Trump promised the biggest tax cut and reform in America’s history, which he said would benefit the middle class and small business owners. U.S. Sena-tor Bernie Sanders shined a light on the issue of Trump’s promise. Despite Trump’s promise to help the middle class, the three rich-est people in America saw a $68 billion increase in wealth this last year, while the average worker got a four cent increase. On top of that, only 2% of Americans saw actual bonuses under Trump’s tax bill, while major corporate compa-nies like Walmart are still lay-ing people off (Sanders). Trump seemed to have wanted to make sure Americans remembered his
promises, yet, let’s be real, he has not lived up to many of them. While he promised to not cut health insur-ance, we find him backing the cutting of Medicaid and Medi-care. He said he wants children to be safe in their home, yet ICE is tearing families apart. He wants a proud and dignified country, yet he slanders Haiti and African na-tions and disrespects women. On top of all this, Trump was refuted by Democratic Repre-sentative Joe Kennedy (Mass.). Kennedy gave an ode to America being built by immigrants, Rus-sia’s involvement in our democ-racy, environmental protection, civil rights (women and transgen-der), affordable education, and many more issues that protect the working Americans. While Kennedy was there to give the rebuttal, there were 14 Democrats who boycotted Trump’s speech altogether. Among some of them were Maxine Waters who said she cannot support a liar (MSNBC). Rep. Juan Varas tweeted he would not attend, he stated: “@POTUS continues to disrespect women, in-
sult people of color, and attack our immigrant communities. I will not be attending the State of the Un-ion — I stand in solidarity with all the people he has and continues to disrespect. #SOTU” (Twitter). Whether or not you watched the State of the Union Address, it was a lengthy speech that pretty much resulted in us knowing that America will always be first and number one (he will do anything to make sure of that). Also, if you remember former President Barack Obama, well everything he did will be erased, even if it has protected more Americans. Trump has made it clear that his America is very straight-lined, which means if you are not a rich, white, upper-class, evangelical male, you cannot possibly benefit from society — despite the history of our nation.
Courtesy Photo
Messenger 8 Opinions Feb. 1, 2018
If you like Psychological horror games, then this is a game for you! Over break, I played a game with a fun and romantic theme that takes a surprisingly dark turn. The game? Doki-Doki Literature Club. On the surface, this game looks like a dating simulator, but things take a turn for the worse. It deals with suicide and other issues as a self-aware AI attempts to be with your character, while she, herself, is not programed to be with you. The game even adds files to your com-puter with cryptic messages about what is going on in the
Doki-Doki Literature Club: Game ReviewAllan-Michael [email protected] game, which adds to the hor-
ror atmosphere. When I first came across the game, I kind of shrugged it off as a dat-ing simulator. After a friend recommended it to me, how-ever, I looked deeper and saw one eye-catching game tag: “horror.” This had piqued my curiosity as to what the game was about. The warning screen at the beginning of the game, which cautions those who are easily disturbed or are feeling depressed to not play, increased my interest even more. The game, at first, did present itself like a dat-ing simulator, but as I played in the first playthrough, the game seemed to get strange.
You get introduced to people who you find out to be suf-fering from mental illnesses in real life or have other is-sues that they deal with. For some who have never dealt with people who suffer from these issues, it can bring to light the impor-tance of being there for these people, as just the smallest
thing can mean a lot for them. When asked about the game after his playthrough, Tyler Gifford, freshman, reinforced this theme and stated, “Doki Doki is a suspenseful game that delivers powerful mes-sages on issues of mental illness.” Despite how dark this game is, it does teach one very powerful lesson: everything you do matters, regardless of how small. This is something that your char-acter says after discovering that Sayori had hanged herself in her room. Your character states that it does not matter what is going on, she had just lost his best friend, and this is not a game you can restart. After this happens and you try to load the game, it tells you that the game is corrupted due to a missing file and restarts the game for you. Upon re-start, the game fixes itself and is completely different from the first playthrough. The dia-logue is different, and things get even worse as a gloomier tone becomes apparent. In this game, your choices matter, and what you do and say can affect every person, down to the poem you decide to write. The same can
be said in real life. Everything you say and do matters. Every minute you choose to spend with someone else or talk to someone matters and affects other people. If you lose a relationship with someone, or someone you love dies, you simply cannot just restart the day; everything that happens here in real life happens in the game, and you cannot change the past. This game highlights this issue and, sure, it may just be a game, but the actions you make have major impacts in the game and distinguish which files the game will add to your computer. If you are up for a game that has a deep meaning and a horrifyingly psycho-logical story, then Doki-Doki Literature Club is the game for you. This game helps you better understand the mean-ingfulness of the current relationships that you have and the value of everyone around you. Everything you do is finite, and, if you lose a person or a relationship, there is no restart button; life isn’t a game, and, like Doki-Doki Literature Club, it will be nearly impossible to change what has already been done.
Courtesy Photo
Feb. 1, 2018 Arts & Entertainment Messenger 9
The monsters gathered out-side the walls of the castle, slithering and skittering just beside the crumbling stones. The darkness concealed their sleek, slimy bodies as they waited for the perfect time, the time they had waited so long for, the time that had been so close before The Boy had hid-den behind the walls. The Boy hadn’t always been a coward who hid behind stone. Once, he had been a warrior who fought the mon-sters and the darkness they called home. He had fought long and hard, and, at times, it seemed he would win, but the darkness only grew darker, the monsters stronger. They gathered around him, trying to extinguish the fire that burned in his heart. Finally, when the light inside grew dim and hope began to fade, The Boy built his castle and hid away. He denied them as they cried and clawed, and he did this for many years, nursing the flame that was hardly more than em-bers. However, the walls no longer kept the monsters out. Light had come to the world for a time, and The Boy, thinking the battle was over, had torn down his walls and basked in the light. It didn’t last, though.
Requiem’s Desire: Chapter OneRobert [email protected]
The light soon faded and darkness returned. The Boy retreated to his broken castle, and now the monsters waited outside, wary to enter. The Boy was no longer a warrior. That part of him was asleep, but, still, the monsters feared, for they remembered the days when The Boy had fought. Even then, the fear was fading. Soon it would be gone completely, and the creatures that lurked in the dark would pounce, ready to take the prey they had so long been denied.
Stephen stamped his cigarette into the ground and sat in the lonely darkness. High clouds filled the sky — a solid wall, a blanket, over the earth that blocked the moon, blocked all light. Small, wispy clouds hung lower in the sky. Stephen almost thought he could touch them, but they were float-ing by quickly, fading away into the distance. They almost seemed as if they were in a hurry going somewhere, going nowhere. The only light in Stephen’s world was cast by Lindsborg’s street lights. He had managed to avoid these in the shadows of the holly bushes behind the cafeteria, but the darkness wasn’t quite enough. To be in the darkness he wanted, Stephen huddled
into the shadow of a parked car. He faced the empty park-ing lot. It was a weekend, and everybody was gone. Every-body had something to do. Normally Stephen didn’t, but tonight he did. Tonight, he had a plan. Still being one with the shadows, Stephen’s eyes turned back to the sky. He gazed, and nothing gazed back. Anger began to boil inside of him. He had wasted years looking to the ground and speaking to God. One day, he looked to the sky, and he felt nothing. Nobody looking back, no hand reaching down. That was the day he walked out of his church and never returned. The irony of attend-ing a Christian college did not escape him. Taking long, deep breaths, Stephen lit another cigarette before emerging from the shadows and walking back toward Warner Hall. He was in no hurry. There was plenty of time. Enough for one more smoke. It was a cool Sunday night. The day had been warm and sunny. One of the last warm days of the year. Finals and Christmas were approach-ing, and Stephen would be going home soon, very soon. He didn’t think he’d ever return to Bethany.
He had a different call-ing. Leaving the outside chill for the warmth of War-ner, Stephen made his way to the second floor. He found his room unlocked, as he usually left it. He and his roommate hadn’t rearranged the room once since moving in. The right-hand wall was still taken up completely by the two desks with his roommate’s bed on the far side from the door. A mini-fridge sat in the middle of the far wall. The fridge seemed to be a border between two dif-ferent worlds. Stephen’s room-mate had pictures of himself, friends, family, pets. All the usual things. It was a very per-sonal world, grounded in that which could be touched, seen, and heard. Stephen, on the other hand, had no personal photos. No mementos to remind him of home. He had no anchors to the world around him, but he had paintings. Paintings heavy with dark colors. All held sources of light that glowed onto the shadow of a man. Both seemed overwhelmed, conquered by the grays and blacks that conveyed a feeling of unending gloom. Impending doom. And nothing more. Posters for metal bands from Korn to Slipknot covered his bulletin board. Such music
Messenger 10 Feb. 1, 2018Arts & Entertainment
Requiem’s Desire: Chapter One Cont’dRobert [email protected]
constantly filled his room, as if he were using hopelessness to fight a hopeless inevitabil-ity; as if allowing himself to be consumed by it would give him the power to fight it. Stephen was alone in the dorm. His roommate had gone home for the weekend and would return the next day. That was fine — Stephen felt at home in solitude. He didn’t dislike his roommate, but Ste-phen needed to be alone right now. So much to do. So little time. He was almost done, though. The end credits for Silent Hill 2 were still roll-ing on the TV screen. He had never beaten it before. He felt a sense of achievement to have finally knocked that one off his bucket list. Jonathan Davis’ pained voice filled the air from Stephen’s laptop. Hushabye: one of Stephen’s favorite songs. He had cleaned up the room. Before, it had looked like a typical boy’s dorm. Trash had been spilling out of the can, papers laid askew everywhere, and jackets were hanging off everything except the hangers in the closet. None of that was a problem now. The room was as tidy as the day he had moved in nearly
four months before. The only mess left in the room was a variety of bottles scattered around the floor by the edge of his bed. Only one was still full. Ste-phen took this bottle and took a deep drink. The whiskey burned going down, but it was a sensation that Stephen had come to love. At times, he relied on it. Standing next to his bed, Stephen drank and ad-mired his masterpiece hang-ing on the far wall above his bed. Of all his paintings, this was the one he had poured his heart and soul into. The oth-ers, he thought, were merely practice for this one. He had worked on it all four years of high school, and he had finally finished this year. Work was done. It was time to rest. Spanning the entire wall, aside from the window on the far left, was this paint-ing — Stephen’s life work. Within the painting, the shadow of a man stood on the edge of a cliff, facing the sea with roses spanning the entire painting behind him. As Stephen stared at his painting and drank, he found it hard to focus — ev-erything was turning into a blur, but not the painting. The painting was the only thing
that stayed perfectly clear, even growing vibrant, despite it’s dull lack of color. The stormy clouds above the man in the painting had parted and cast light on him, but his body blocked the light from reaching the flow-ers, and so every rose was left gray. A professional could have finished this painting relatively quickly, only the roses might have taken time, but Stephen had been meticu-lous with it, making sure every line and shade was perfect before applying it. Staring at his painting, the the darks hues striking him deep in his heart, Stephen felt nothing at all. Once, some-thing had crumbled and fallen away. It had hurt then, but not now. Like Eliot’s hollow men, Stephen was empty, nothing left to give. The war ended tonight, and that was all that mattered. Something to Stephen’s left moved, a shadow, hidden in the darkness of the bath-room. Stephen only smiled and drank. It was an old friend who made his peripheral it’s home. Stephen had hoped to make a painting that felt like you could walk right into it, a portal to another world, almost. He felt he had suc-
ceeded. As the whiskey over-whelmed his brain, he reached out and tried to touch a flower. He wanted to feel the rose and hold it close to him, but to no avail. All he touched was can-vas. There was never a flower. Only canvas. Disappointed, he fell onto his bed, using all of his energy to stay sitting. The world was spinning, but not in the normal drunken sense. Something was wrong, very wrong. He knew what it was and smiled. He looked to the bathroom, and he saw the shadow slither around. It was no longer hidden by his pe-ripheral, but instead was clear-ly in view. Stephen was glad. He could finally see his old friend. Stephen grew dizzy. He forced his gaze to his painting. Stephen’s work was done.
Stephen was tired. This is the way the world ends. Stephen lied down. This is the way the world ends Stephen fell asleep. Not with a bang, Beautiful, merciful sleep. But a whimper.
