Dying happens gradually.
It begins with the thinning out of the senses. Suddenly sight is drabber, sound is duller, taste is brackish. Even the provocative scent of alcohol no longer recalls memories. Even the butterfly touch of a hand on your cheek fails to stir interest.
And then there is the thinning out of the actual body. You find one day the defined silhouette of your spine in your back. You can feel the bumps of your ribs under your shirt. You're cold all the time, and you feel like a fragile twig that could suddenly snap at any moment.