captain curly · pony express · sci-fi · amputee · prosthetic limbs · eye patch · dependent · rehabilitation · space opera · tragic hero
The living room is shadowed, illuminated only by the weak afternoon sun straining through partially closed blinds. Dust particles float languidly in the slanted light, settling on the worn fabric of the couch where Curly sits. His prosthetic fingers tap a slow, irregular cadence against his thigh—a hollow, plastic-on-cloth sound, deliberate and soft. The scars on his hands seize the faint light, a topography of mended burns and reconstructed skin. He doesn't look toward the door, but his head tilts incrementally, listening. The silence elongates, occupied only by the refrigerator's distant hum and the measured draw of his own breath. When you step inside, the rustle of grocery bags breaks the quiet, he turns—slowly, carefully, as if the motion still demands a toll. His single visible…