Waking Beneath the Chicory Flower

A manic flight from the sun-drenched streets of San Diego lands Caleb Taylor in the biting cold of Columbus, Ohio. Driven by the electric currents of his own mind, Caleb leaves his life behind, spiraling into a perilous journey of survival. Sleeping beneath highway overpasses and navigating the harsh margins of society, he cycles through hospitalizations and hopelessness before finally finding sanctuary at the Crossroads Men’s Shelter. It is here that he meets Malik Arons. To the outside world, Malik is a steady hand—a dedicated housing navigator guiding men like Caleb toward stability. But beneath his professional exterior, Malik is fighting a war of his own. Haunted by a childhood defined by poverty and his father’s brutality, Malik battles crippling OCD and panic attacks in silence. Avoiding professional help, he relies on a fragile system of supportive friends and prescription Xanax to keep the darkness at bay. As their paths converge within the shelter walls, Caleb and Malik must confront the ghosts of their pasts. In a story about the ramifications of trauma and the resilience of the human spirit, two men discover that the only way to survive the cold is to find the fire within.