Signing Off

Signing Off

A television gives light to a dark room where a sleeping man sits in an armchair. The Star-Spangled Banner plays on the TV as the channel signs off for the night. An ashtray lies upside down on the carpet, ashes scattered around it. A cigar, stuck between the man’s middle and ring fingers, continues to burn. An empty bottle of Jack Daniels stands on a table beside the chair. A pile of divorce papers, with the man’s wedding ring on top, sit beside the empty bottle. The TV turns to static and the man twists in the chair, dropping the cigar as he does. It hits the carpet and the hot ash breaks off. The carpet catches fire. The man sleeps as it is his only escape.