Welcome Back, Elliot Grey

The city was too loud for thinking.

So after work, Elliot turned away from his usual path home. He didn't want the apartment. Didn't want the silence that screamed louder than any crowd.

Instead, he walked toward the coast.

He didn't know why exactly.

Maybe to quiet his mind.

Maybe to put his thoughts somewhere bigger than himself — in the sea, in the wind, in the sky.

By the time he reached the shoreline, the sky was painted in cold blue and ash gray.

The tide whispered in long exhales.

He found a rusted bench facing the ocean.

Sat down slowly.

The wind tugged at his coat.

His thoughts swirled like gulls above stormwater.

Then—

Darkness.

His body slumped slightly forward.

And everything vanished.

Silence.

Then a gavel slam.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a massive courtroom — walls black, windows glowing white.

Hundreds of eyes stared down at him from the jury box.

All of them were Claire.

The judge?

Claire.

The court reporter?

Claire.

The prosecutor?

Claire — standing tall, arms crossed, a cold smile playing on her lips.

He sat alone at the defendant's table.

No lawyer.

No papers.

No voice.

The judge slammed the gavel again.

"This court will now begin trial against Elliot Grey, charged with the crime of existing without value."

The prosecutor Claire stepped forward.

"He is guilty of wasting a marriage. Of letting people around him decay while he stood still.

Of cowardice. Of silence. Of never speaking when it mattered most."

Photos were passed — all in black and white.

Lily.

Claire.

A cracked dinner plate.

A couch.

An untouched lunch.

The jury nodded in unison.

"He had choices," one Claire said.

"And every time, he chose nothing."

The judge raised her brow.

"Does the defendant have representation?"

The courtroom echoed.

Empty silence.

Until—

"He does now."

June stepped through the courtroom doors.

She wore a dark coat, no fear in her steps.

She walked to the defendant's table and placed a hand on Elliot's shoulder.

"He isn't guilty. Not in the way you think."

The judge tilted her head.

"Then prove it."

A gavel slammed.

"You have one week to present evidence.

One week to prove this man deserves to keep existing. Otherwise—he will be sentenced to permanent erasure."

The sound of the gavel echoed like thunder.

Elliot jolted awake.

Eyes wide. Hands shaking.

The ocean was still in front of him.

Waves still rolling.

But the courtroom was gone.

He was back on the bench. Back in the cold.

Then a voice, not in his head this time:

"You were shaking."

He turned.

June.

She stood a few feet away, holding two takeaway coffees.

"I saw you sitting here… you okay?"

He blinked.

Then nodded. Slowly. Like someone waking up inside their own body.

She sat beside him.

Didn't ask questions.

Just handed him a cup.

And for the first time in a long time,

Elliot felt like maybe… someone was on his side.

End of Chapter 10