Detonate

Stuart stared into his bottle. If he looked into it at the right angle, he could see the tiny bubbles inside exploding...He remembered when he was little: His mother would fill the bathtub with shampoo and fill the tub with countless shiny domes. He would play in the bathtub and smash the bubbles with his tiny fists, detonating microscopic universes. He thought about that for awhile...and then he thought about thinking. He thought about memory, and how easily it can be forged. He thought about his own consciousness, and how it's the only real thing he has ever known...and then he thought about Audrey.

Smoke was hovering in front of him. He looked over to Audrey. She was curled into the shower slightly rocking, pausing only to suck on the end of the cigarette. He stared at her for some time...until he remembered the folder he brought home from work.

This singular thought snapped him out of his trance, and he was suddenly awake to reality. He sat his bottle down and walked into the living room and to his desk, picking up the folder.