Neil San Francisco 1981 White Men Walking

It is dusk, daylight has faded. The world is monochromatic. Steam rises from the round vents of manhole covers like ghosts. Neon yellow and fiery red light falls from ‘The Vamp’, transforming the mist into hellish flames. Neil pushes open the club doors, just catching a glimpse of Aidan disappearing into the booth. Neil recognizes Aidan immediately, even though it has been twenty years between sightings, even though Neil had been only seven. Neil does not know how he recognizes Aidan. Is it Aidan’s unearthly beauty, flawless skin and unnatural grace, or the scent of mortality that seemed to rise from his pores? Aidan makes Neil feel clumsy, imperfect and more than one step closer to death. Neil does not know his purpose, but he knows that fate has somehow connected him to Aidan as clearly as the scar that connects his lip to his scalp.