On Growing

As seen in a fever dream, 2006. “It starts because you owe him something. Or, more likely, he has given you something and now you must return the favor. I’ve heard stories–I can’t attest to their validity or anything…There was a guy who used to go around to different colleges and hang out at big house parties. He would talk to girls and guys; try his hardest to blend in with the crowd and have a good time. He’d always pick one person to whom he would gift a red ring. If this new friend had nothing in return for the amiable stranger, he would find reason to leave the party a few minutes later. Outside, under good cover, he would wait until his “friend” exited the party. He would follow them home and he would take back his ring, plus a gift from said “friend.” No one ever really alerted the authorities because nobody died. They just seemed like random acts of aggression that left victims with physical discomfort, an anxieties about meeting new people. The guy I am talking about, the guy who this story is about, he’s not so friendly. He leaves nobody alive. He takes life without a glimmer of remorse, because in his own sick head he truly sees his actions as selfless and pensive–so much so that to take the souls of those who do not reciprocate is as natural to him as brushing your teeth in the morning is to you and I. What differentiates this guy from the guy that collected fingers and toes from college campuses is that this guy’s idea of a “gift” isn’t tangible, like a red ring. If he passes you on the street and says hello, if you meet him and you miss his offering to shake your hand, good luck. You’d better return the favor. Some of the things I’ve seen this guy do, you wouldn’t believe. Falling out of planes only to land safely on the backs of dead Orca whales, hunting down families and schoolchildren under broad daylight and slicing their guts open in public only to slip away in the crowd…He once told a group of young teens racing each other across the state–for fun–that he would kill one of them every night until none remained. The kids tried to outsmart him, but that is another story for another day.”