The Grey Fog

Hutch is struggling. Only one person can help.

Older guys.

Hutch was feeling depressed. He didn’t know why. He couldn’t work out the trigger. He just felt like everything was wrong and he had no way to fix it.

In the past, his first impulse at these times had been to bury himself away from the world but bitter experience had taught him that he actually needed to reach out and put into words how he was feeling. Even when he had no words. Even when he had no vocabulary to describe the grey fog that wrapped its tendrils around his brain and made it hard to think.

These days, he would ignore that instinct to hide and go to the one person who would listen with understanding; even when all that came out of his mouth was disjointed nonsense or worse still nothing but silence. Starsky didn’t need coherent words to understand what was going on with his friend. Somehow he just knew, accepted and was able to redirect and revitalise.

He grabbed his car keys and headed over to Starsky’s. It was early but he couldn’t wait. If he waited, the grey fog would get the better of him and he wouldn’t be able to leave the house.

He arrived at Starsky’s and could see that the house looked as if everyone was still asleep. He hesitated, but then climbed out of the car and used his key to quietly let himself in. He tiptoed quietly to Starsky’s den and sat in his friend’s leather chair. Leaning back, he allowed his eyes to wander over the things his partner held dear. He absorbed the eclectic chaos that was so Starsky and felt himself relaxing.

On the desk was a collection of pens and pencils. Hutch chose the one that felt natural to his hand. He looked in a drawer and found paper, which he pulled out and lay on the desk in front of him. Slowly, he began to write; random, single words to start with but eventually the phrases began to flow into poetry.

An hour later, a cup of coffee appeared in front of him and a hand on his shoulder told him his partner was there and more than willing to listen when he was ready to talk.

The grey fog began to dissolve.