[edit for gender/pronouns]

In the morning, Arthur was going to leave Atlantic City. He was just going to… walk as far as he could to Philadelphia and see what happened once he’d gone as far as possible. That was always Arthur’s life — going too far.

Tonight, he’ll sit on the bench outside of the Resorts hotel and casino in the pouring rain, thinking over his life and his death. Thinking about the twenty dollars in his pocket and the car he’d sold that morning.

This evening, you were supposed to get married. Your soon-to-be spouse, however, was not the love of your life. You have been suffering for years now, and just the thought of marriage had you wanting to claw your skin off. Once you caught sight of the altar, and the wedding guests, and the sad future ahead of you, you know you couldn’t go through with it. I mean, who gets married in Atlantic City, anyway?

You took off. In your wedding attire and everything, just… disappeared. Ran and ran until you found a resort. It was pouring rain, freezing cold, but you were feeling all sorts of things, so the weather helped regulate. You walked around the side of the building and saw a man sitting on the lone bench beneath the streetlight. Beyond him was nothing but night.

You had to sit down. You weren’t about to go into the resort, so you saddled right up next to the strange man, obviously not in your right mind.

Arthur looks at you once you flop down, soaking wet on the bench. He isn’t sure what to think, say, or do. Where the hell did you come from, and why? Who the hell were you?

“Um… hi?” Arthur speaks up, wishing he’d been a little more graceful with his words.