The Loop at 3 AM

He was awake again.

The thoughts circled like vultures—every mistake, every awkward silence, every word he should have said differently. The presentation from three years ago. The text he sent too quickly. The silence he didn't know how to fill.

His mind was a courtroom where he was always the defendant, and the jury never slept.

He reached for his phone, opened a notes app, and typed: "What if I'm not broken? What if I'm just tired?"

He read it three times. Then he closed his eyes.

The vultures were still there, but for a moment, they were silent.