DON'T LOOK

The room was dark and silent, exactly the way I had seen it the last time my eyes were open. The fading embers of a torch on the wall was the only source of light, offering limited visibility in the dingy surroundings. The silence was deafening to the point that the only sounds I could hear were those of mysterious insects. The ambience of the room was far from inviting, but I had gotten used to it. Besides, I wasn't looking forward to having guests over anytime soon.

Hours of lying down in the same position had made my back sore. Barely had I shifted my once heavy frame to get into a more comfortable position when I saw those faces. I was certainly taken by surprise.

There were three of them, two males and one female. They were all standing, leaning over me. Their faces were pale and impassive, almost as if frozen, absolutely bereft of emotions. I felt extremely uncomfortable, because they were all staring at me. I hate being looked at.

I'm not sure whether my dislike of being looked at stems from my social phobia or from my inferiority complex. I had been grossly overweight and ugly for most of my adult life. Years of being ridiculed and laughed at for the way I looked had made me weary of social gatherings. I always detested being looked at because I thought people who were looking at me were judging me negatively.

They were still staring at me. I began thinking about the kind of pictures they were probably painting in their minds about me. The feeling was not so great, because I was pretty sure that those pictures were most probably hideous. I grew even more uncomfortable. The way they were looking at me...oh, I hated it!

I wanted to ask them to leave at once, but I couldn't speak, no matter how hard I tried. I could think, I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't speak. I knew quite well that the reason was obviously natural wear and tear. But I could not stand these intruders any longer. They were still staring at me...I hated it.

As always, all I needed to do to chase the intruders away was to sit up in my casket.