(IN)HUMAN

BY SANIYA SAHEER 

CHAPTER ONE: ETHAN LEE DAVIS

I closed my eyes for a tick as the lights in front of me dimmed and the students came into my line of vision. My own face stared back at me from a screen at the far wall and as I spoke, my voice was amplified by the speakers and the curved walls of the theatre hall. "If you have any doubts or queries, now is the time."

A wave of hands popped up in front of me. As my eyes scanned the crowd, I spotted a hand with a lightning bolt tattoo on the wrist and I motioned for the young man to stand up. He was tall and skinny with bushy black hair pulled into a ponytail. "Professor Davis, what lead you sir, to study and expertise in this field and that too, at such a young age? What was the inspiration?"

"You wouldn't call 29 such a young age, when you are staring at 30 in the face." a small laugh spread through the crowd, like water rippling on touch. "And inspiration wouldn't be the word I use, it was more of a...curiosity, a curiosity to have an answer to the hidden, unexplained things in this world."

"Did you? Find an answer, I mean." The boy asked.

"No", I said, a small smile on my lips now, "I found out that some things are better left unexplained."

Another hand shot up, this one free of tattoos. "Do you believe in what you learn and teach, Professor? That there are hidden and dangerous beings among us?" her voice was strongly accented.

"The most truthful answer to that question is that I don't know. Sometimes, when you are learning or teaching, some things might seem so real that accepting it doesn't exist will be hard, sometimes the opposite. But I believe that there is good, and so there must be evil because that's how the balance of nature works. I hope I answered your question Ms....?"

"Black." She provided.

"Ms.Black, thank you for your question." I answered a few more questions like these, for people thirsty towards the never ending quest for the supernatural. "I hope that you all had a good and productive time. Thank you."

I shut my laptop down and placed it into my bag as people started shuffling out, theirs talks indescribable and loud. I slang my bag across my left shoulder and went out into the cool night air of Massachusetts. The Harvard University sat in full glory at night, aweing me even though I have been teaching here for the past year of my life. The familiar sound of my car unlocking ringed through the night as I slipped into my seat and drove off into the busy street. This place is a paradise for people like me, with new things of intense history in every corner. The Old County Courthouse, the oldest wooden courthouse in the US, the American heritage museum, Appleton farms, the list goes on. I am a bit ashamed to say that I have visited only two of the vast historical sites Massachusetts provides.

Lights flooded the whole house as I switched them on, spreading myself in the egg chair, grabbing hold of the book I was reading. I kicked off my shoes and folded my legs around my body, stretching my hands to grab the hamburger in my bag. Silent and peaceful, alone and away, these were the times I appreciated. One cannot call me an introvert because I am not one, it's just that I have a limit to socializing. For the next twenty minutes or so, I lay there, my eyes working its way through the book and my mouth through the hamburger. Then my phone rang. I fished into my pocket and answered it.

"Hello."

A pleasant voice replied, "Mr.Davis?"

"Yes."