Short Stories Volume 1

"An Emotional Eater"

You ever been numb?

I don't mean like you've been laying on your arm for too long and then you feel that weird static sensation before it actually goes numb. But I mean emotionally. Like if the plane you're in was about to crash or your boss just told you that you were fired, you couldn't care less. It wouldn't phase you in the slightest. That's the kind of numb I mean.

What probably should suck more is that that's the norm for you. In the meanwhile, your best friend is having the time of their life and slowly is left feeling sad.. Or the upside is when your other best friend was in a deep depression is back to her normally jolly self. Yet, there is nothing for you.

Throughout your life, you've seen people go through emotions like some sort of roller coaster. But you, you've always been this way. Since the time you could remember anything, you never were able to experience emotion. When you fell from the tree, you didn't cry of feel any pain. When you were told that your mom beat the cancer, you didn't get happy or bursts from joy. Heck, even your parents said that when you were born the doctors couldn't get you to cry. You just couldn't feel.

At some point, your family and friends stopped taking you to see any doctors or specialists. They've come to terms that you don't feel anything and accept you the way you are. After all nothing bad showed up in those tests anyways.

So just like any other day, you leave your work. You go home, cook your dinner and head for bed. Only difference tonight is that someone is nudging you awake. In the beginning you tried to ignore it but as it got more persistent, you opened your eyes to a shadowy figure with glowing red eyes. You blink a few times to make sure what you're seeing is real.

Should I introduce myself and then ask why he, she or it is doing in my room? Or do I let them go first?

"Seriously?!" it screams.

"Nothing. Not even fear that you can see me? Shock, at the fact that I'm talking to you?" it sounds like a he.

You still haven't said anything or given him a reaction which angers him further. He zooms over to you hovering just above you and your bed. The only thing you can do is stare up since now he's no longer across from you.

"Listen here you annoying little mortal! I have been starved by you for the last three weeks. Every single time I try to eat, you are flavorless. There's nothing there! So I'm just going to have to work harder to season you. By any means necessary."

Then he dematerializes. Leaving you just staring at your ceiling. All you do is wait until you fall asleep again.

By the time your alarm goes off, you reach over to turn it off and since it's on your phone you noticed the missed call from your boss. Listening to the voice mail, you hear that he tells you to come in early. So instead of your usual morning routine you head to the office of your boss and wait for him to tell you why he needed you to come early and speak to you.

"Well Jane, you have always been a hard worker. Every task given to you have completed to perfection. Will you continue to do that?" he ask. "Of course what do you need of me?" I reply.

He comes over and leans in close and whispers, "Good, now I want you to go to your desk and clear it. You no longer work here and will not be receiving your last check. That'll be all." When he pulls away he doesn't even look at me as he goes back to his desk and sits.

I simply stand and tell him that I will be out of here in ten minutes. Which I made sure I was. Once back home I put my laptop on my lap so I can start looking for other employment. It might be harder to find one since I was fired, not laid off or anything like that. But it shouldn't be impossible either.

"I just had you fired and all that I get from you is coming home and going on your stupid computer!?" the man from the night before screams at me. I didn't see him come in my room. But just as before, he disappears again before I can say anything to him.

The following day, I get a call back from one of the places I had submitted my resume to. On my way back some pedestrian and I are hit by some passing car.

When I wake up in the hospital, the doctor tell me about my injuries and ask if I'm in any pain. I tell them no and ask about the other person that was hit. He tells me that they died on the way here as some nurse calls him out of the room.

With nothing to keep my mind busy, I fall asleep. I didn't want to wake up due to my headache. Wait a minute. Since when have I ever had a headache? Is that what this is?

Forcing my eyes open, I look around the room. When I make myself sit up, my body aches. Getting curious, I poke at my bandaged leg. Instantly recoiling when I felt the pain. Holy shit! I felt that! What's going in my chest? I think I just laughed. Am I crying and laughing right now?

Making sure I wasn't imagining this I reached down and poked at my leg a little harder. This time I actually cried out and more tears came out. I didn't know it was from the pain or me laughing. I heard and saw many of my friends would often cry when laughing too much.

"Hey creepy ghost guy thing, I'm feeling a lot of things right now. So now would be a good time for you to appear, just saying." I call out. I probably look crazy by talking to nobody in the room. But I don't care. Whatever the hell that guy is, he managed to make me feel. Yes right now the majority of it is pain but I still feel other things.

One of them I think is what they call gratitude.

"Finally." I hear his voice right next to me. He had this satisfied grin on his face. Almost like he ate a full meal.

"A bit all over the place with the flavors but I'm sure in time I can even you out to my preferred tastes. This is the best meal I've had in over a month so I'll let you sleep as you normally due. Good night little mortal." is all he said.

He kept true to his word. By the time I awoke in the morning my sleep had been as it always was. No dreams or feeling just a simple closing of my eyes to opening them due to the morning. I could only assume when he said that he would even me out to his preferred taste is that now that I could feel things, I would be feeling more of what he liked.

I'd just have to wait and see if I would remain feeling or if this was just a fluke from the accident.