[Truthfully, Alex doesn't know if this story is about him. It feels like it is, but it also feels like a story about Zack; it also feels like a story about everyone.]
[He struggles against unanswered questions, lack of specificity, for a while, once Ben has finished talking. Then he looks up and catches the smile and, somehow, is able to let it all go.]
[Whether or not the story is about him, it helps him. That's why Ben told it. And he feels awash in gratitude for having been helped in this way. Ben is - above all else - a storyteller. And he is kind.]
[He doesn't hold his hands out, but he spreads them palms-up in front of himself: a gesture that he can't define the meaning of, but one that seems right. Instinct leads him well, most days.]
[ Spam ]
[He struggles against unanswered questions, lack of specificity, for a while, once Ben has finished talking. Then he looks up and catches the smile and, somehow, is able to let it all go.]
[Whether or not the story is about him, it helps him. That's why Ben told it. And he feels awash in gratitude for having been helped in this way. Ben is - above all else - a storyteller. And he is kind.]
[He doesn't hold his hands out, but he spreads them palms-up in front of himself: a gesture that he can't define the meaning of, but one that seems right. Instinct leads him well, most days.]
[It will have to be enough. For the time being.]
Thank you.