Miserable Connections (A short story)

I sat on the ground , the piercing chill of the concrete penetrating my jeans. The air around me was no better. The winter weather was freezing anyways but the light wind flowing around me made it even worse. I pulled my beanie down further and bundled my coat closer to my body with one hand, my other holding a burning cigarette.

I chuckled at the absurdity of the concept that this was the only thing keeping me sane. This small paper wrapped bundle of burning leaves was the only thing that calmed me. I hated my life. Between work, my failing relationship, the long nights at the hospital by my dying father's side, and a never ending custody battle, I was glad that there was at least one thing for me to focus on and wind down with.

I put the cigarette to my lips and inhaled. My lungs burned even worse than normal from the massive contrast of the heat inside me to the cold around me. I exhaled and watched as a cloud of condensation and smoke exited my mouth, taken away by the wind. I turned my attention to the steps in front of me and shivered, but not from the cold. An icy chill like a finger running down my spine shot through me, the feeling of being watched overwhelming.

As I lifted my fingers to my mouth again, two yellow eyes creeped came up in front of me at the steps. Slowly but surely, a round, black face completely revealed itself. Its teeth were too large for its mouth, the points sticking out from its lips or lack thereof. The creature pulled itself over the top step with long, sharp fingers. Its arms, legs, and torso were nothing but tight, black skin and the bones underneath. It eyed me as though I was an abstract piece in a museum or an extremely unique animal it had never seen before.

I trembled under the creature's stare. I took my time inhaling the smoke and held it in my lungs for a few seconds before finally letting every ounce of air out. The creature, which I assumed to be a demon, seemed very perplexed by the cloud and shook its face when the smoke hit it.

"Sup." I stated, partially happy for some unknown company that could potentially kill me.

The demon put itself close to the ground and continued to eye me as closely as I was it. As we watched each other, I noticed that its eyes were not on me at all. I laughed.

"You've never seen a cigarette before?"

It shook its head, an eery, all together too smooth motion that reminded me more of a low swinging pendulum than anything else.

"Well, it's a man-made thing. It takes the edge off."

"The........ edge?" The demon asked. Its voice was a strange mixture of raspy and smooth, little more than a whisper and heard more in my head than with my ears.

"Of life." I took another drag. "My baby daddy is fighting me for my kid, my boyfriend is definitely sleeping with another woman, my boss misuses me every single day, and my dad's dying. Lung cancer. Which he got from smoking which is exactly what I'm doing now but I don't care. It calms your nerves and makes everything just a little more bearable."

The demon stared, unblinking and unmoving as I continued to smoke. I hit the end of my cigarette and put it out. As I pulled out the box from my pocket for another, I let out a yelp. On top of the box was a hand that had not been there before. It had long, black fingers and sharp fingernails. I took a breath and looked into the demons eyes. It stared back into mine and we stayed there for a minute, simply staring.

"May...... I have one...... friend?" It sounded so weak, so tired. I smiled.

"Of course. Anything for a fellow misery-clad soul."