The Collection

The Zealot

THE CHALLENGE: Write a story using the words "schadenfreude," "peanut butter," and "zealot." Challenge by the lovely Mila Wu. 

​She's an atheist. Sitting in the back of church, staining the pews with a shadow that pools like ink. Seven years old and still. When she stands, her lace skirt doesn't give a single ruffle.

​She's a wraith. Sliding silently through the hallways while laughter echoes around her. Around her, but not at her. Kids crack open their lunches, munching on peanut butter sandwiches. They don't see her. She's just another face in the crowd.

​She's an anomaly. A boy in her class falls, and she smiles. A girl faints, and she grins. Something inside her fills. She's never felt it before, this lightness.

​The next morning, she trips a peer. Elbows a seat partner, just a little too hard to be friendly. Little things. Innocent.

​But it begins to lose its thrill. She becomes empty again, cold and lonely and hollow. Quiet.

Sixth grade begins. She nudges a kid just enough for him to lose his balance and tumble down the stairs. Crack. Bright red blood stains the white concrete. It stains his nose. Her red lips part in a smile. Her hands are covered in blood, but no one can see it.

Her schadenfreude becomes an obsession. Bloody noses become drab, daily occurrences. Broken arms fade to grey.

She's wasting away. Her lips turn white, and her skin takes on a pallid tint. She floats silently through the halls. Laughter surrounds her. Eyes pass straight through her. She's empty, un-sustained, colorless.

She needs more.

She finds that more late one Friday in an alley behind a gas station. Pale yellow lights light the store. The only life inside is the half-asleep man at the cash register. It seems like an alternate reality.

She knows what she is doing breaks the law. But that law had been made according to "unalienable rights" gifted by something called "God." She didn't believe in "God."

She's an atheist. She's a wraith. She's an anomaly. She's a zealot, but not of God.

She's a zealot of pain.

I hope you guys liked it! If you want to challenge me, just send me a message. I'll have your story up in a week :)