(exhales, slowly)

After a full week, and noticing the beginning of chips along the edges of the paint, I resumed the chomping of my nails that I've done for the past twenty-odd years of my life. Even allowing for the short pause of time in my biting habit, that first crunch back felt akin to what I imagine smokers must feel returning to their first cigarette in a long time: so terribly satisfying, and just the beginning of so many more to come.