I alighted atop a gargoyle statue, staring down at the city of glittering lights and barely-muted car horns. Even from this height, it was impossible to escape the pulsing beat of humanity beneath me.
It was intoxicating.
‘Michael?!’
I twisted out of my haze, as a woman ran onto the rooftop behind me.
‘Oh, God,’ I heard her whisper, clear as a bell even from the other side of the building. ‘What happened to you?’
I emerged from my crouch, stalking towards her.
‘Evolution,’ I growled.
‘Michael, this isn’t you, we can fix this—’
‘It’s too late,’ I whispered, coming to a stop ten feet away from her. ‘I’m not Michael. Not anymore.’
‘Of course you are,’ she pleaded, tears forming in her bloodshot eyes. ‘You just have to remember.’
‘What is there to remember?’ I snapped, the unexpected ferocity forcing her to take a step back. ‘Nothing from my old life is worth going back to!’
She stared at me in silence, lip quivering.
‘The office design,’ she whispered.
‘What?’ I frowned, confused.
‘The leading office designs in the Melbourne CBD,’ she went on. ‘You always loved how they designed the office.’
I blinked hard, as a few pesky memories pecked at the corner of my mind.
‘You always said it was so convenient,’ she whispered. ‘The space was so open and comfortable, but also organised and easy to access.’
‘I–I…’ my words failed me. I fell to one knee with a grunt.
The woman pressed forward, growing more confident with every word.
‘You once told me that if you hadn’t become a doctor you would have liked to explore office fitout design,’ she said. ‘Do you remember? “Who designs the best office fitouts local to Melbourne?”, you asked me. Do you remember, Michael?’
I let out a roar, clutching my head as lances of pain shot through it.
‘I–I can’t,’ I groaned, collapsing to the ground. Blackness pulsed at the edge of my vision.
‘You can, Michael,’ she whispered, rushing to my side. ‘You can.’