The Parasite
The Parasite sneaks up on you. Sometimes after an empty day and other times after a day where every minute was dedicated to an action that needed immediate attention. It thrives in the shadows of distraction hoping that the target would be oblivious until it was too late. It conceals itself hoping to cause the most chaos to The Host that it leeches off and to those who are unfortunate enough to be around it. The unsuspecting targets, the good willed individuals, the poor victims who are in the storm’s trajectory.
The Parasite waits in the background waiting for the perfect time to strike and to make itself known. The Host is always the last to realize the creature’s presence and what it represents. The Outsider notices the shifts first, The Parasite always presents itself through rapid swing moods exhibited by The Host. One minute cheerful and bubbly, another minute cross and brooding. No more smiles, no more joy, no more ease, only bleakness, only annoyance, only aggression is left. Needing something to release the pent up emotions, something to satiate the pent up energy, The Parasite goes after The Outsider.
The Parasite tries picking at minor imperfections, dredging up previous resolved arguments, daring The Outsider to a challenge hoping for a moment of release. But, The Parasite forgets The Outsider has battled and destroyed an array of other parasites. Conquering a different parasitic creature every week that knocks The Host off her center. Constantly monitoring The Host, setting traps for the different heterotrophs that might burrow themselves deep and feed off The Host. The Outsider laughs at this most obvious attempt for attention, The Outsider had higher expectations of The Parasite hoping for a challenge, something difficult to crack and figure out.
“Are you hungry?” The Outsider asks. The Parasite’s blood slowed, how did The Outsider know? The Parasite needed to fight back, keep its hold on The Host or else it would be destroyed. “Of course not, I ate yogurt in the morning.” The Host replied. Reader, it was now nearing 5 PM in the evening. Hours after this first alleged meal The Parasite’s influence has spread widely across The Host’s body, deepening its roots, intertwining its tentacles into every cell, planting a false lie in her head that all is well.
“Okay,” says The Outsider. “I ordered Korean chicken wings, they’ll be here in 30 minutes.” The Outsider left the room for the host to think about its coming demise. The Outsider knew no further action was needed of him, once the chicken wings were delivered The Host would do the rest of the work. What could The Parasite do? Entice World War 3? Pick another argument? Lie again and say hunger was no issue? The Parasite could feel The Host starting to think about what The Outsider said, was hunger the issue? The Parasite tried to cloud The Host’s mind to buy some additional time but then came the dreaded knock on the door signaling that dinner had arrived.
The mesmerizing smell of soy garlic hit The Host and the grip The Parasite had immediately slipped. The Parasite’s tentacles loosened and the particle began to shrink. The Host took one closer step to the chicken wings set on the table, with each step the receiving pheromones caused The Parasite to keep shrinking, it needed to expel itself from The Host and latch on to another before it was too late. The Parasite rushed to the mouth trying to jump out in time before the chicken wings were consumed. Up the throat it went, it could see the exit just in the distance but then, freedom was eclipsed by the soy garlic chicken wing making its way down The Host’s mouth.
The fog that plagued The Host’s mind for hours lifted with each bite. She could think without a gnawing distraction feeding on her mental capacity reserved for other matters. What was this feeling? Clarity? Contentment? Ecstasy? Exhilaration? Each bite brought a deeper feeling of euphoria The Parasite had been blocking from The Host. Pure bliss radiated all through The Host’s body as the insatiable hunger finally met its match when she took her last bite leaning back on the couch satisfied. The Outsider looked on amusement in his eyes wondering how long The Parasite would stay away this time.
