See a penny

"Penny for 'em, love?"

The old man is speaking, but his words make no sense.

Well, I understand the words okay, it's the meaning that escapes me.

Is he confused, like gran went?

Even from here, I can smell drink on his breath. Is he drunk?

I was just going to tell him he'd dropped something, when I realised it was a coin.

Scanned it quickly for messages, but nothing. Just a penny.

Wait - what did he say about a penny? Is there a message in that?

I feel anger rising.

If this is one of the messages, that's a whole new level, an escalation. The signals and signs in words and numbers are one thing, but...

Have you started speaking through people now?

How dare you! How can you use them like that?

Wait, he's saying something else now.

I try to focus on his words, but it's hard to hear over the noise in my head.



Story begins here