It was a warm, humid night, so Lim thought he would take a walk. He wore red noise-canceling headphones with 70s music playing at a low volume. This is nice, he thought.

He only made it two houses before a royal blue light beamed from between the blinds of the house next to him, casting unnatural blue stripes on the lawn. The TV malfunctioned. Strange things tended to happen around Lim. Empty light, static, and error codes were nothing new to him. A deafening snarl of frustration— so loud it could be heard clearly from outside— followed, but Lim didn’t hear it. If he had, it would have made things much worse. Lim did not like loud noises, especially sudden loud noises, especially threatening sudden loud noises. Lim had a small issue where he got unreasonably upset by these things, and each time he got upset, it made him easier to upset next time.

Lim knew this, and he did not enjoy the prospect that someday he might be stuck in upset mode, so he was extra careful.

He knew where he was going. He only ever went one place when he left the house: to the golf course. The golf course was virtually abandoned. The automated ball dispenser still worked, and at night the motion sensing light flickered on, dousing the area in front of the shack with yellow light. The motion sensor reached quite far; it turned on when he was still half a block away. It would turn on each time someone walked past the golf course, each time a car passed by, and even when a bird flew by.

Lim wasn’t going there to play golf. Lim just liked all the empty space.

He flicked the air as he strolled onto the damp, trimmed grass and gazed at the vast field. He laid down on his back, arms and legs outstretched and stayed like that. It was 8:21 when he left the house. The sprinklers turned on at 9pm every night. The sprinklers flitted on, and Lim stayed there. The water soaked his heather gray T shirt and striped pajama pants.

He closed his eyes. He wished the ground would swallow him up then and there. He would never have to worry about overstimulation and its consequences, finding a job so he could move out of his friend’s cluttered house, dealing with stray emailed apologies from his mom, or any of his health conditions. He wanted nothing more than to rest in peace… forever.