He was the most obnoxious being you could imagine. On most days, she hated him, and for good reason. The endless chatter, that high-pitched, cranky voice, those beady eyes, and these weird, human hands that looked like gloves. This guy was a parasite.
Take, for instance, last Tuesday. She woke up that day full of ambition, ready to give a speech she’d been meticulously preparing for weeks. He appeared the second she flicked the bathroom light switch, leaning with his furry body against the door frame: Girl, get over yourself. You out here looking like you’re auditioning for a throwback episode of MTV Cribs. Nobody is going to take you seriously looking like this.
He would take her day and rip it apart, sprinkling in off-the-shelf pop culture references whenever he saw fit. He was out of control. Finally, she would break, collapsing on the living room floor. Consciousness came back slowly, like pieces of a puzzle. She was paralyzed, staring at the ceiling. A sky so white, with ripples frozen in time. A black wire extended down from the center, reaching for something electrifying. All she wanted was to see the heavens breathe. Let this wire find the light. Please, will you finally shut up?
She was dependent on everything that could drown out the noise – TV, podcasts, music, audiobooks, ear plugs (which never worked). She couldn’t stand his appearance any more than his chatter, but dealing with only one of these factors was better than both. She even gave him a name. Arnold. Obnoxious Arnold.
He followed her everywhere, no matter how hard she tried to escape it. Even when she wore her most professional smile, you could feel the tension, the exhaustion. Arnold does not want to be left behind, thrown away in favor of an eclectic career. He never stops talking because he fears not being heard.
His fate forces him to accept that he is no longer needed. That she has long outgrown his concerns. But they are chained together, one could say, by blood. Two sides of the same coin. And it’s only through mutual acceptance of these circumstances that reconciliation becomes a possibility.
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You’re currently exploring the narrative world of Whispering in Color. Each tale in this series delves into the relationships we maintain with our inner monsters. These creatures are manifestations of our fears, insecurities, and past experiences that often go unseen. These stories bring them into the spotlight, giving them form, color, and meaning.
