Collection of Stories

Sit

"Please, take a seat." she gestured with an open hand towards the chair.

I mumbled a thank you, sitting back in the chair. 

I tried giving a polite smile but her cold stare made me falter.

An awkward upward twitch of the lips.

"So you know why you are here?" she asked, looking down at the papers on her desk, neatly stacked and ordered.

Just as I was going to reply with an almost reflexive 'yes', I realised I didn't.

"Oh." was all I could manage.

"Mhm. You don't happen to know where you are either, do you?" 

I didn't like the way she looked at me. A smile with no humor and a know-it-all air.

"Oh." I said, with another realisation.

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"No, I do know." I explained, trying to regain face. "It's just a bit unusual..."

"Being inside your own head." she said finishing my own sentence.

"Talking to myself." I added, only just noticing how similar we looked. 

The way she acted made her seem like a different person, or maybe I just wasn't looking in the mirror enough.

I'm just slow picking up on things, I decided. 

"So, what am I supposed to call you?" I asked a bit hesitantly.

I wasn't sure how she...or I would react.

"To avoid confusion, call me Calculating." she said, watching me carefully. 

I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable.

"It suits you."

That earned me a smirk.

"So...Where is everyone else?" I wondered aloud, looking around the otherwise empty, bare and white room.

There was a simple door behind me and no other exit.

"I keep them locked up most of the time." Calculating replied, looking me straight in the eyes, clearly waiting for a reaction.

I tensed, looking at her suspiciously.

"Oh?"

"They get in my way. I deal with them. It's quite simple, really." she explained with a faint smile.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Of course, but just because it's a dream doesn't mean it isn't real."

I furrowed my brow.

She tilted her head, that unnerving smile still there.

"Calculating," I paused for a moment, trying to recollect my thoughts,"What's going on?"

"You make choices. Depending on those choices, you do things. I tend to be the one in charge of revising the consequences and such. The..." she lapsed into quiet, lacking a word,"The others, you see, tend to not be so careful. You get hurt. I've taken charge because of this, you understand. I am sure you are aware of this to some level. I'm simply a figure you've given to this thought process for the time being. I'll still be here once you wake up-" she paused to look at a watch on her wrist. "which will be any second now. There's much to explain. I might be seeing you later. Good Morning."

And so the dream ended and the day began.