Sophie
43 kg and falling
The night brought a chill that even my thick jersey couldn't fend off. Ana and I sat at her kitchen table studying for our psychology exam. These days she never came to my place, I was always the one who visited her, brought her wine and flowers to soften the hard edges.
"Let's get out of the kitchen, " Ana said. "Nobody comes here anyway."
We set up a small table in her sitting room, a light above us put us at center stage and removed all distractions. My flat stomach no longer rumbled. This exam was the big one for the year and I was feeling ill-prepared for the hours of work that lay ahead. A permanent buzz nested in the back of my mind, an insect that fed off any rest I stole.
"We have to eat, Ana. We're getting sick. My mom wants to take me to an institution. An institution, Ana! I'm not saying we should eat fat, but we need nutrients. Fruit and stuff. I'm starting to hallucinate, I can't concentrate. I swear I saw Mia standing outside my window last night."
Ana hummed to herself, oblivious to my plight.
"What nourishes me destroys me," she said, lighting a cigarette. "What destroys me nourishes me." She stood up from the bed, and I knew for the first time why I had seen her hesitate every time she stood up - she was waiting for the stars to go away.
As Ana turned and put on her dark glasses I caught site of another creature, a skeletal figure with no chemicals to interfere with her existence, with sockets where eyes should be, a creature with no emotion, no tolerance, and no compassion.
The creature smiled, but in the low light I could not tell the smile from the face.
YOU ARE READING
My Secret Family
General FictionWhen Max met Sophie she was a lively, happy, creative soul and he instantly fell in love. Sophie discovers her friends are not all they appear and she changes, becomes obsessed with losing weight. Ana, Mia and Sue add their own problems to her alrea...
