God, I loved how you wrote the main character here. The style of speech, or the way they recalled stuff was so fun to follow through. Really liked that. The story was also fairly grounded but interesting… Until the end, that is, where it became not-so-grounded (The opposite, even, floating in a void) and still quite interesting! Really liked the sudden twist. The void and the grin felt rather metaphorical, akin to the idea that everything changed while he wasn't around. Can't be sure of it, of course, but that's the vibe I got from it.
Regardless, this was an extremely compelling read. I really liked it. +1~