Run. Thatās my first thought and it keeps playing in my head over and over again. Run!
āYou OK?ā asks the man before me.
I realize Iāve been standing frozen, probably looking spooked.Ā āYes,ā I fake what I hope is a convincing smile. I look back at his right shoulder, thereās nothing there, then to his left shoulder where a solid colored devil rests.
As he turns to our table I glance over the restaurant to make sure my powers are still working. Thereās a woman one table away with a transparent devil and a translucent angel, she listens to the angel more. The woman across from her has a devil thatās translucent, she listens to it a little more than she should.
Iāve had this power my whole life, to see which side one listens to, but never before have I seen a completely solid devil, never before have I seen the angel completely goneā¦
Turning back to him I seen heās pulled my chair out for me, watching me expectantly.
I could run now but what if he follows? Maybe itās best I donāt tip him off, assuming I havenāt already, and sneak out while heās not looking.
āThank you,ā I sit down.
He sits across from me and looks down, pulling on his long sleeves.Ā āOrder whatever you want,ā he mumbles,Ā ādonāt pay attention to the price.ā
āOh, OK thank you.ā I can barely pay attention to the menu. I glance over the restaurant, planning an escape route from the restroom.
āIt was at 5:50,ā he says, picking right up from where our last conversation online left off.
āI watched that video a dozen times and couldnāt see it.ā
As we talk he seems just like the shy sweet boy I met online but then I glance at the devil on his shoulder and remember to be scared.
Iām looking at his shoulder so often that he glances back to see what Iām looking at. Worried about it I glance down and gape; on his arm a cut peeks out from under his sleeve.
He sees me seeing it and panics, pulling his sleeves down.
My gaze falls to the table and we sit there in silence.
This whole time Iāve been avoiding the people with the more solid devils because they listen to them more, I never questioned what the devils were saying. His devil isnāt telling him to hurt me, itās telling him to hurt himself, that heās worthless and doesnāt deserve me; and me acting scared of him isnāt helping.
āDonāt listen,ā slips out before Iāve finished getting my thoughts together. I take in a long breath and speak slowly.Ā āDonāt listen to the voice that tells you youāre useless, that youāll never make a differenceā¦ Youāve made a huge difference to me.ā
I risk looking up and see him teary eyed.Ā āThank you,ā he whispers, and beside his head a barely visible angel fades back into existence.
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