Eduardo Discovers He Has Powers That Contradicts His Personality (Fiction)

"No, no back off!" Eduardo fell on his back as the humongous beast of a dog knocked him to the ground. To keep from toppling over, the dog rested a filthy paw against Eduardo's chest just as he saw a bolt of lightning course through the night sky from the sliding glass doors before him. For a brief moment, both animal and human stared at the bright sky.

Suddenly, Eduardo felt himself going deaf. "What the -" He blinked and came face to face with his adversary. Their eyes connected and suddenly, he heard a sound that sounded a lot like a heartbeat. Eventually it just continued pounding in his ears until he heard his own voice screaming, "Aaaah!"

"D?" Eduardo looked up to see his best friend Joey towering over him. He could see that Joey was trying his best to contain his laughter.

"What are you doin' on the floor man? Jesus. Samuel, get off him."

"Just being a good Samaritan by welcoming him in," a calm voice resonated in Eduardo's ears like an echo.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Eduardo turned to Joey.

"Yeah, I told Samuel to bounce." Joey shrugged. 

"You're actin' really weird, man. Come on, I've got some leftover pizza from the night before."

Eduardo watched as Joey disappeared into the kitchen.

"Ooh, pizza!"

"Who said that?" Eduardo spun around in a circle in search of the voice. He felt like he was going crazy. All he saw was Samuel wagging his tail at him.

"You okay little dude?"

Eduardo's eyes nearly fell out of his head.

"I must be going nuts," he muttered. "That mutt did not just talk to me."

"Hey! Human's aren't the only ones entitled to feelings, you know," Samuel's tone sounded hurt.

"Yo D! You comin'?" Joey yelled from across the room.

Joey had a problem pronouncing Eduardo's name, so he started calling him 'D' when they were kids, and the name just kind of stuck. Next thing you know, they were sixteen and about to study for a math test the next day.

"Yeah coming!" Eduardo backed away as far as he could from Samuel and instead of bypassing him to get to the kitchen, he chose to leap over a couch that was standing between him and the pizza.

Perched on the kitchen counter, Eduardo grabbed a slice of pizza. Joey's cat sat staring at him while he downed it with a glass of cold milk.

"What? You got something you wanna say to me too?"

The cat meowed loudly.

Eduardo caught Joey staring at him weirdly.

"Hahaha! Just messing with you, man!" He gave Joey a punch on the shoulder.

"Riiight. Well quit messin' about. We gots work to do!" Joey stuffed a pizza into his mouth and walked out of the kitchen.

"I'll be up in my room when you're done being weird!" He called out.

Eduardo sat in the empty kitchen staring at the empty glass before him. What was happening to him? Ever since his gruesome encounter with a Doberman in the second grade, Eduardo hated every single dog he met. It was the summer of 2010 when Eduardo was on his way home from buying a Popsicle that he had the privilege of crossing paths with a Dobie. The dog had amazing speed and to cut a long story short, both Eduardo and the dog ended up on the ground. 

A bird was flying a little too close to them right at that exact moment and without warning, the dog leaped into the air and caught hold of the bird. And so it was in the summer heat of 2010 that Eduardo was forced to witness a bird being ripped apart before his very eyes. As his Popsicle melted all over him, he knew that things would never be the same. The incident traumatized him. He swore off all dogs after that.

And now he's supposed to be some kind of dog whisperer? He couldn't help but wonder what the universe had against him.

"What's up old chap? You look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders," Samuel's voice reverberated through the porch.

Eduardo rolled his eyes. He may as well embrace his newfound talent. He came out to the porch to find Samuel looking up at the sky.

"Kick start my heart when you shine it in my eyes
Can't lie, it's a sweet life
I'm stuck in the dark but you're my flashlight
You're getting me, getting me through the night"

"Oh come on," Eduardo groaned.

"'Cause you're my flashlight flashlight flashlight," Samuel echoed.

"You know you just sang some Jessie J shit right?"

"Are you kidding? Homie please, this is my jam!" Samuel barked.

They both burst out laughing.

Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them and filling an emptiness we didn't ever know we had. - Thom Jones

You Think You Have an Addiction but Discover That You're Someone Else's Addiction (Fiction)

I exhaled a cloud of smoke as I gazed up at the stars above me. Smoking underneath the stars was the shit. It made me feel all calm and serene, if that made any sense. I took another puff as I thought about my life and the people around me. Then there were those bills. Those damn bills that came like clockwork every month to haunt me.

I thought about the first day I started work at my firm. A couple of months went by and I started picking up the habit of smoking. What can I say? The stick calmed my nerves. But then it started feeling really good doing it in the cold, when I was bored or when I couldn't sleep.

One day, I finally realized that smoking had probably become my addiction.

I suddenly became very aware of a rapid, shallow breathing behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find this dude who has been following me around since the first day I met him at that dodgy karaoke joint. He was always hovering...

I frowned and threw my cigarette on the ground. Twisting and grinding my foot on it, I asked him, "Ever had an addiction you wanted to shake off?"

With puppy dog eyes, he stared at me. "Yes, but I don't ever wanna shake it off."

I looked at him thoughtfully. It almost seemed as though he was staring at me in admiration. His eyes were a little wild and looked a bit crazed. He didn't break his gaze and the situation slowly turned awkward, even creepy. Could it be... NO.

Holy shit. I was his addiction.

- I'm not addicted to cigarettes, I'm addicted to escaping reality