Mr Nobody

nothing man

Batz strided into the building, his flashy red suit contrasting with the muted building. He didn't want to be here. He would've preferred to just send a letter, or an email or just something other than coming in person. He was used to weird looks. That was the norm when you're covered in bandages but show no signs of injury. However, that wasn't the worst part.

He was cursed with scopophobia. It used to be just a minor case... Then *it* happened and he couldn't bare to be just... Observed. He gained it after an unfortunate run in with a group of older boys who would just stare at him in disgust. They would call him names and he would learn to dislike his body, much less seeing people look at it. He had gotten a therapist though and he was much better about it.

The kind people led him to a desk where he sat opposite a man. His black hair tied up in a messy bun, his eyes deep with lack of sleep. This was what he had to turn to just to get some assurance he wasn't going insane?

"Name, age and reason for statement?" He said in a monotone voice, clearly tired of the thought of actually putting some emotion into his words.

"Oh! Batz Postman. I'm 22. And I... I saw and am experiencing something." Batz replied. Shifting with his bandages hands.

"And any history with mental illness?"

"I've got anxiety but other than that, nothing else."

"Alright. Statement of Batz Postman on the ## of September, 20##. Statement begins."

the man clicked on a tape recorder. Batz silently cheered that he wasn't going to be filmed. He just adjusted himself in his chair and took a deep breath in.

"It was last week. I had just gotten out of my last class for the day and I was heading to the pub with my friends because it was the weekend and we wanted to party. We had fun for a few hours but we eventually had to go home. I helped most of them home because I've got the highest alcohol tolerance and wasn't going to pass out any time soon... I live on the opposite side of campus to my friends. I usually enjoy that. Saves me the trouble of listening to them tell all the time... If I wasn't... I wouldn't have to be here.... I started back to my dorm."

Batz absent mindedly played with the edge of his cuff, trying to distract himself from the staring eyes of the man

" Took the quieter route because while I wasn't going to collapse, I still had a massive headache. It was then that I started seeing things. Purple eyes drawn, no, scratched into the buildings. It sounds weird but... I could feel them staring at me. Just watching and blinking as I passed... I ,unfortunately, have scopophobia. It's usually quite mild... But that night, I couldn't help but shake in fear... I kept moving though. Thought I was just tired, or that I'd been drugged...."

Batz took another deep breath, trying to keep his composure

" There's an alleyway you need to pass through to get to my dorm. I know the path it takes, I'm in my final year and they never bothered to move me. That night? It was longer than it should've been. And as I kept walking, there were more eyes... The alleyway didn't lead to my dorm. It instead lead to a weird courtyard. Four walls, some benches and a fountain in the middle. There were runes scratched into everything, that same glowing purple. I was terrified. I tried to leave but... There was no alleyway anymore. Just me and the courtyard. I took a seat on one of the benches and just... I don't know, I tried to comfort myself? I just cried as I pulled my knees to my chest. There were so many things *watching* me. Just observing. My scopophobia has gotten worse after that. I have to take night classes or sit at the back and avoid drawing attention to myself"

Batz shivered as he remembered the night. The glowing purple always being in his vision

"... I sat there for what felt like hours... Eventually something appeared. It was humanoid, mostly. It shifted in ways a person should not be able to... It had massive wings, grey skin, a long purple cloak, a white mask with a weird symbol on it and... eyes. So many, floating purple eyes that just observed. It looked like a biblically accurate angel. A seraphim or something... It just watched me. No noise came from either of us. No noise actually came from anything, Though, that could've been a panic attack setting on in my brain... I wouldn't describe what it did as 'speaking', more like telepathy. I just knew what it wanted said. 'you should not be here'. I knew that well enough. It knew what I thought. 'you have seen too much'. That I knew too. If I didn't have to be, I wouldn't be there... 'we require something for your ignorance'.... I didn't know what it meant."

Batz takes another deep breath. Fighting down the panic it caused him.

"Then I woke up. I was in the alleyway. I thought I had just had a really bad nightmare... Then I looked down... It's easier to show you..".

Batz would unwrap the bandages from his hands and the his face. There was nothing underneath. There was no skin. No flesh. No bones. No blood. Just nothing. He had no eyes, no teeth, no facial features, no hair. He was invisible. Completely transparent apart from his clothes.

".... In exchange for me seeing it, it took away people's ability to see me... Cruel irony. "