Chapter 10
Johnny dreams of cameras, hundreds of them blinking at him, flashing in a staccato pattern of dark and light. He feels like an icon, an idol, placed on a pedestal and worshipped from afar. Each light is an offering to him, promising immortality. The glow is heady, and a million suns explode around him, delighting in his presence.
But he’s alone in the light. It’s stark and lonely, and the pedestal shrinks as Johnny stands on it, the wide rim growing smaller, until he’s standing on a piece of unsteady stone the size of a large dinner plate, then a tea saucer, then just the top of a narrow pillar, one foot on the other. He reaches out but no one’s close enough to help him balance. There’s no support behind him, no one but cameramen and their flashing lights. He totters and they
