In an ideal world he would be visiting his brother with better tidings - well, in an ideal world there would be no need for him to be visiting his brother in the fucking asylum in the first place but you worked with what you had. In that happier world he would bring sandwiches, a few bottles of beer and they would stroll aimlessly and perhaps his brother would finally tell him what had driven him to this place. Perhaps then Ari would be ready to leave?

With the news he had to tell him today he doubted his brother would ever recover. He didn't feel equal to it himself. He found Ari in a surprisingly comfortable room, plain but clean and with dappled sunshine coming through the windows. It felt like the setting of the other world where things were going to be okay, not this one where things were desperately wrong.

"Ari," he said by way of greeting, his voice strained. "Have..." he hesitated, taking a seat besides his brother. "Have you heard about Irvingly?"