Member-only story
The Young Woman & The Imp On Her Shoulder
The young woman checks her reflection in the mirror. The shadows under her eyes have grown longer. The shadow over her shoulder has grown teeth.
“I can make those go away,” says the imp. “The lines around your mouth, too, your crooked teeth. I can make you so beautiful that it will break strangers’ hearts, just to see you.”
“No thank you,” says the young woman. “I don’t mind them so much.” She is too tired to fight the imp off. She has been tired for a while. She’ll probably be tired for a while, yet.
“Liar,” says the imp, curling up against her back to sulk.
The woman goes about her day. She works at the job she doesn’t like but doesn’t hate. It doesn’t pay very well, but it’s within walking distance from her apartment, and she likes the hours. She eats a grapefruit on her lunch break, one of the ugly ones sold for fifteen cents even though it tastes just like the others. She goes to the bathroom twice during her shift. She does not look in the mirror. She buys groceries for dinner on her walk home.
Here, the imp unfurls and licks its lips as they approach the register. “I can make you rich,” it offers. “I can make you so rich you could buy the whole world and still have some left over.”