Chopin — A Short Story

Tomorrow is Cole’s 26th birthday. He knows no man — no Black man — who made it to 26, except his dad. So today is the day Cole is going to die. He’s sure of it.

10am. He wakes up on the couch, TV still on. Ignores all the texts except for the one from Clare: “10pm?”

“Yep.”

“Heart emoji.”