Robert knelt behind the television like a man wrestling an ancient curse. Cords snarled his hands; each knot earned a mutter.“Power’s on,” he grumbled, burrowing deeper. “Where’s that bloody coaxial… was right here—”On the three-seater, Chris and Scott had already slouched into spectator shapes. White tee, washed-out denim for Chris; Scott in a threadbare Ungrateful Dead, legs long, eyes fixed on the blank screen. Footy, weather, reality trash—anything would do, so long as it flickered and made noise.On the rug, the twins hunched over a Switch, faces blue-lit, battery icon blinking red. Spider-Man and Batman pyjamas squared off in pixel war, oblivious to the world’s larger collapses.Between half-opened boxes, takeaway containers, and a drift of game controllers, Robert spotted the coax peeking from under a moving blanket. “A-ha.” He yanked, plugged, and pushed to his feet. Knees cracked like old timber.David swept in from the downstairs loo, drying his hands with the ceremony of
Last Updated : 2026-04-20 Read more