Here judging the fourth round of Sixth Time's the Charm!
I wasn't actually too sure how numbness would work out in a story, but you've done a lovely job of portraying it here! I'm unfortunately one of those people that thinks drinking away sorrows is a clever idea, but not to the extent that Michael does, so I kind of understand the reasoning behind his actions but again, not to the same extent. It's really sad that in the end, that's what kills him and it's something that I read about all the time in newspapers. I think I discount it most of the time because it's more of a "this man, aged whatever, died" and you don't get the snapshot into their life or what caused them to go that way, but this allows that and it just breaks my heart.
There were a few aspects of the dialogue that I was a little confused about formatting-wise, but it isn't that big a deal and I could be wrong anyway. All in all, good job!
I wasn't actually too sure how numbness would work out in a story, but you've done a lovely job of portraying it here! I'm unfortunately one of those people that thinks drinking away sorrows is a clever idea, but not to the extent that Michael does, so I kind of understand the reasoning behind his actions but again, not to the same extent. It's really sad that in the end, that's what kills him and it's something that I read about all the time in newspapers. I think I discount it most of the time because it's more of a "this man, aged whatever, died" and you don't get the snapshot into their life or what caused them to go that way, but this allows that and it just breaks my heart.
There were a few aspects of the dialogue that I was a little confused about formatting-wise, but it isn't that big a deal and I could be wrong anyway. All in all, good job!