Someone else gets the bill

Someone's about to get stuck with your bill. The deal sounds fair. One now, and tomorrow you'll be extra good. Early night, a long walk, water all day, everything balanced by lunch. But the person paying isn't here. They're asleep somewhere in tomorrow morning. They never agreed to any of this.

Ask them anyway. One question. Do you want to wake up having done this? Listen. The answer comes back fast and flat and a little tired. Tomorrow already knows how this deal goes. The cigarette takes this minute and mails the bill to tomorrow.

Right now the urge is loud and specific. Tomorrow is a rumor. By morning that rumor is a real person at the bathroom mirror, carrying whatever you choose in the next ten minutes. Pay them forward instead. Take tomorrow's walk now. Shoes on, out the door, or laps around the room if it's late. Ten minutes of moving is a gift you can hand them right now.

You can have the good tomorrow without the debt. It was never a package deal. An urge peaks and passes within minutes, and you're already moving. Hand those minutes to God. Keep me steady till this passes. Bill cancelled. Enjoy the walk.