forbidden fruit
paul woke up with an unbearable headache and found the whole country in grief. it was two in the afternoon and the room was bursting with the summer sun that penetrated through the glass sliding doors that led to the terrace. he forgot to shut the blinds last night before he went to sleep. he felt sticky and hot. he was bathed in sweat. for a while, it hurt to open his still drowsy eyes. with his eyes shut, he groped for the strings on the side of the door and closed the blinds. with his eyes now opened and the room enveloped in the darkness, he found the tv's remote control underneath the pillow and opened the cold, black, fifty-inch gadget mounted on the wall. the room was now sparkling with the lights and vibrant colours emanating from the television. then he headed to the bathroom to wash his face and look for medicines for his headache and hang over. before he could even wash his face and swallow panadols to ease the paralyzing pai