Rushing Whispers

    Cameron hadn’t given me any clues throughout the day on how we would celebrate my birthday, or if we would celebrate at all. The latter wouldn’t bother me, as I’d asked him not to make a big deal out of my thirtieth birthday, though I had doubts he would listen to my request.      I was standing on the side of the stage for the encore; Amoeba came back out and played two last songs, the first being Missing Persons . The crowd roared at the end, and only quieted down at Dale’s insistence.      “This here, this is a song from the new album. Are you all ready to see the fairgrounds?”      The crowd cheered and yelped in response. Lee started the song off with a pounding bass line, which eventually grew into a steady rhythm provided by the addition of drums and keyboards. I knew this song well, it was one of my favourites on Cabinet of Fools . Lyrically, Fairground was short and concise, but on a musical level there w...

    Running water was the first thing I heard when I woke up. Neither of us had slept much, but I would have gladly spent all night awake to comfort Cameron.      I sat up and stretched, my mind returning to last night. He’d been riddled with guilt when I managed to pry his feelings out, but I would have been lying if I’d told him I didn’t feel the same at times. It tore my heart to see him so hurt, still pained for our loss nearly one year after the Rotterdam concert.      I had comforted him well into the night, until we eventually succumbed to sleep as the sun rose. It was now just past ten o’clock, and I was sure that Cameron felt much more exhausted than I did.      I walked into the bathroom and poked my head behind the shower curtain. “Good morning, my sweet,” I cooed.      Cameron turned to face me. “Good morning, my beautiful,” he replied. The smile on his face was refreshing to see.  ...

[Cameron’s Perspective]      I woke up in a near-sweat, my eyes snapping open as soon as I realized I was no longer dreaming. I didn’t often have nightmares, but each time I awoke from one I was left feeling unsettled.      Tonight was no different than usual, though the dream itself was peculiar rather than frightening. I tried to relax myself enough to drift back to sleep, but even with Emily’s steady breathing and comforting presence beside me, I struggled.      I slowly got out of the bed and gazed around the hotel room. The tour had only just begun a few days ago, but I strongly felt the clashing of my desires. I sat at the small table at the far end of the room, doing my best to remain as quiet as possible to not wake Emily.      Deep inside, I knew that my ambivalence towards this tour stemmed from her presence with me. Before we met, I had set off on tour without many worries. My time was usually divided b...