27.

appealing to the reader’s self-interest
I have scribbled the following notes on pages 14, 15, 16, 23, 26, and 29:
the last time we rubbed faces
someone turned the page and laughed
and yet, it didn’t seem to matter at all if they stayed or left
they didn’t exist anymore except as a warning
like a cat ignoring the traffic
an incinerated butterfly fathomed only as ash