Obsession of the Egoist by Nero Seal

Author:Nero Seal [Seal, Nero]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nero Seal
Published: 2019-12-08T18:30:00+00:00

THE CALENDAR EXHALED DAYS, flipping by. Kuon felt the change with his skin, with his ears, with his heart. In an attempt to familiarize himself with his surroundings, he’d knocked into the furniture so many times that his toes swelled. Concerned, Rick had suggested that he wear tennis shoes around the apartment. Hearing the apprehension in his friend’s voice, Kuon once again realized how much he had changed and how every little thing riled him up now. Trying to be grateful, he’d nodded, and wore his tennis shoes all the time. Soon enough, he could navigate through the rooms without bumping into furniture.

During that time, Kuon barely left the apartment. Busy with his work on a construction site, Rick had been constantly out. Loneliness, darkness, and the up-to-the-maximum-volume TV filled his days. The regret at declining Rick’s proposal to get a dog slowly grew. The wet nose of a friendly creature nuzzling his palm would ease his loneliness, or so he thought.

If anyone asked Kuon what day it was, he would shrug, as days merged into dull, gray nothingness, where even scar therapy treatments were an entertainment.

Gray called a few times, but since Kuon never took his calls the attempts eventually stopped. Kuon didn’t regret cutting the man off. The word ‘liability’ still rang in his ears, agitating and unsettling him whenever he remembered it.

Yugo came every day, but kept visits short. If Kuon was in a good mood, he stayed longer, but he never went further than touching Kuon’s face, and even then he instantly let go.

Kuon grew used to his visits. He kept his grumpy attitude because he wasn’t sure how to behave around Yugo, but he had to admit that he didn’t hate his presence. More than that, he looked forward to it, and the low sound of his voice.

The summer filled Kuon’s blood with excitement and anxiety. August was approaching—inevitably, irreversibly. And August brewed fear. What if the surgery didn’t go well? What if this darkness was permanent? What if he wouldn’t be able to see the sun, blue sky, even Yugo’s annoying face ever again?

Whenever those thoughts appeared, Kuon chased them away with severe workouts. But that day, his body was stiff, and even a small movement left him with no energy. Lying on the sofa, he clicked through the channels, but the constant adverts, cartoons, and soap operas turned his brain to mush.

Getting up, he turned off the TV and shuffled to the kitchen counter. Fingers found the edge, slid over the cool, stone-like surface before grabbing the kettle. With a habitual movement, he pressed the button. The kettle click reminded him of a gun being cocked. His mind trailed to sleepless nights he’d spent under the unfamiliar starry sky. Bullets hitting the ground fed him with dust. The heavy odor of camel dung in the air had been as intense as the gagging stench of human urine. Painful moans of wounded people grew so familiar, they didn’t bother him anymore, becoming a constant accompaniment of the death march of pattering bullets.

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