Brainfreeze!

The rain put out his cigarette as he stepped outside. Armando didn’t like the rain; he loved it. It reminded him that everything could be washed away. He wanted to believe that— no, he had to.

The deck creaked under Armando's weight. He looked far into the distance, eyes glazed over. What had he done? Someone would be lookin for him, and soon. He checked his watch and walked back toward the saloon. Before he got to the doors he pulled something small out of his pocket.

A photo of a girl he once knew, a girl from a past life, settled into his hands and lifted toward his eyes. He remembered the day well: they'd gone to one of those newfangled photography studios to get the portrait taken. Commotion in the saloon called him back from his reverie.

The poker players in the corner had started a quarrel, he knew this would end badly. He was about to leave when the saloon doors swung open and there she was, the girl from the picture. His lost love.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. He was frozen. Frozen in time & immediately brought back to all those years ago.

The very first time he drank an ice cold drink too quickly and experienced the dreaded BRAINFREEZE. In his mind he was a man of the world, an accomplished scientist, getting on in years. Yet here he was - a small boy in a 7-11 parking lot, spilling his slurpee as the pain hit.