"No one ever wanted to buy me. We were always the only two people in the room." -Zach Schomburg, from From the Fjords

7

One day, all the little beasts living within me decide to leave. They do this unannounced, in the middle of the night, when I am unaware. I wake up feeling empty, like I’ve misplaced something vital to my being. I wake up feeling inexplicably ashamed of myself. I start to look around my house, unsure of what I am even looking for. I do this every day, looking for little beasts in every corner, under every rug. I’m not even sure what the little beasts would look like. I assume like me. Tiny little versions of me, all unsure of themselves, looking for something they’ve lost. As vital to me as I wished I was to them.