That was a.m., mind you.

Of course, there wasn’t much else to do. Watch TV, surf the web, read a book. None of these options were particularly appealing to me, not even the endless games of solitaire. What I really wanted to be doing was sleeping, but the way my head was throbbing, that wasn’t about to happen.

The annoying thud that was pounding out a droning rhythm throughout the whole of my grey matter began early in the evening and had not subsided in the least. But, so far it hadn’t grown any worse, for which I was thankful. Of course, I knew that wouldn’t last. It would be getting much worse. I just didn’t know exactly when.

I’d had this kind of headache before, more times than I cared to count, actually. It wasn’t sinuses, and it wasn’t just your normal stress related “take two aspirin and lie down for a while” kind of pain either. This was an ache born of unnatural influences. It was the pure physical manifestation of fear and dread. The kind of headache I experienced every single time I knew something horrible was about to happen, and there was nothing in this world I could possibly do to prevent it.

Unfortunately, for me, I tended to be afflicted by these damnable things way too often.

I ran my hand across the lower half of my face and felt the rough crop of stubble that, by now, was certainly shading my jaw line. Then I tugged at my goatee for a moment. The action prompted me to remember that I’d recently noticed the dark brown was being infiltrated by grey and white like a quickly spreading fungus. I absently considered a dye job for a moment then dismissed the idea as silly. I’d never been particularly vain before, so there was no reason to start now.

I reached behind with both hands and massaged the back of my head for a moment, hoping that it might help quell the ache.

It didn’t.

Picking up my coffee cup, I took a swig of the remaining contents and noticed immediately that it had grown cold. I guess I’d been a little more caught up in solitaire than I’d realized. Oh well, it had kept my mind off the pain, at least a little.