⟪⅁ More things you will like

waterlollipop

sidlers

A sudden flit of movement in my peripheral vision. I turn my head to see, but nothing is there. I keep walking.

Another black shape darts away just as I turn to see. What could this be?

I jerk my head upwards as I barely spot another hint of motion. Ah, I’ve been chosen. This is the moment many people dread; the realisation that a sidler has picked you. Now I’ll never be alone, wherever I go. It will always be there. Perching on balcony railings, darting in and out of darkened building alcoves as I walk down the street. Always just a few meters away, it will stalk me. Though it will never catch me, that’s its game. Although maybe game is not the right word. In fact, they never even seem to have any goal at all, which is a requirement of any sane game worth playing. Perhaps that’s the thing, maybe the sidlers and their unexplained activities are simply insane.

Well, I’ll never be alone again. I know that much.

I am always nervous now. I often glance through the nearest window, and then the next-nearest window. Even the farthest window requires a glance. My body trembles when I undress. I do it very quickly. My work has suffered.

It knows when I’m learning to be happy again - which is when it shows itself again. Once I almost jumped off an overpass into the highway, because somehow I know: if I die, it goes too. That’s the only way.

Somebody asked me today what the matter was. I smiled and said, “Things are fine.” I kept that smile on my face for several blocks. Thought I’d be ironic about it. Still couldn’t help staring at the spaces between the people on the street.