For a split second, I just stand there, staring at the reflection of my face in the black screen. The man I’ve become, looking back at the kid who thought love could survive anything.
Then I press play.
The image shakes, blurry at first, but the sound comes through clear.
Each clip rolls into the next, faster, more vivid, moments collapsing in on themselves, swallowing the present whole.
My breath catches.
Time folds.
And I’m no longer standing in my kitchen.
I’m back there, living it.
001.MOV Fall – University of Seattle
4:47 PM – Rehab Room 2B
Maddison sits cross-legged on the padded floor, filming me, hair tied back, holding out a protein bar like it's a prize at the end of some cruel, torturous game.
"Just ten more reps," she says, voice calm, smile ruthless. "Or I start singing show tunes."
I groan, sweat dripping down my spine. "Cruel woman."
"Correct," she chirps. "Now lift."
My knee is on fire. My pride in ashes. I used to be a god on the field: fast, agile, dangerous. Now I can barely flex a resistance band without grunting like I’m eighty.
She counts each rep out loud, slow and steady, like she's trying to give me back my rhythm one number at a time.
By the end, I collapse into her lap, cheek resting against her thigh. Her fingers rake gently through my hair.
“You’re still you,” she whispers.
I don’t believe her.
Not yet.
002.MOV Spring – Senior Year
2:12 AM – Crappy College Apartment
Boxes are stacked to the ceiling. The floor is half carpet, half chaos. Maddison is curled up beside me on the couch. I’m filming her eating cereal out of a mixing bowl with a spatula.
“This is adulthood,” she declares.
I grin. “Is it everything you dreamed of?”
She leans into me, eyes sparkling. “Better. You’re in it.”
I press a kiss to her forehead. “We need a real spoon.”
“Agreed,” she mumbles, mouth full of Lucky Charms. “Put it on the registry.”
003.MOV Summer – Graduation Day
12:33 PM – Bleachers, University Stadium
