While the last of the motion I took another big whiff of the whiskey. Followed by the smallest of sips, barely enough to reach past my lips and strike my tongue. There was an explosion of flavor in my mouth; my taste buds tingled in anticipation of another drop. I yielded to my palate’s lust and poured another drop into the greedy maw. Again the sensation of the whiskey brought me peace from my wayward imagination. I could not take my own teasing anymore, so I took a nice healthy mouthful of the drink. It was heavenly.

Once the floodgates were open, I could take it no more, I greedily drained the contents of the glass swallowing the remains quickly. It took me only a moment to refill the glass, my ritual having been satisfied. The second and third glasses went down before I could ease my mind enough to think of sleep. I seated the cork down firmly in the bottle and was going to return it to its home in the cabinet when I decided on a fourth glass, better to be safe than sorry. The last glass was far from refreshing, the whiskey tasted bland and dry. I swallowed it regardless, I just wanted to get some sleep, I would need it for tomorrow was a big day in court.

I shuffled back to my bedroom, the smell enticing me to sleep, my eyes felt heavy, I knew I could slumber now. I looked at the clock to get some idea of how much I could actually mange to squeeze out of the remaining night; it read 1:18am. Five hours seemed heavenly right now. I lay down and closed my eyes, my pillow was so soft, everything felt warm and fuzzy. Best of all I saw no faces, no phantoms, I could rest.

My eyes shot open; there was pain in my neck from sleeping on my pillow the wrong way. What had awakened me? I didn’t know, I had no idea what was going on for a moment, then it hit me. I was seeing the faces again. I looked up at the clock; it read 3:42am. Two and half hours were enough for the whiskey to fade I guess. I didn’t bother to fight it anymore; I got up and headed for the whiskey cabinet. I had to get some sleep; I was due in court in a few hours.