part 7

I had no appetite, but found a restaurant just the same. I ordered a drink and something light but couldn't eat, watching the others in the room enjoying their meals. They all seemed stupid and superficial. I imagined the prince smashing in the door, grabbing them one by one and ripping open their bellies, tearing out organs and swallowing great chunks of them, blood gushing from the wounds as the others ran from the place in terror.

I drove around for more than an hour, not knowing where to go, then I headed out of town. The prince's house was nearly five hours away, I arrived just before dark. I went in and made myself at home. I opened the curtains wide and looked out upon the hills beyond. It was a magnificent view, one the prince would only see at night. I closed the curtains tight and made myself a drink. I wandered room to room in a place inhabited by a being from another species, a living myth. I snooped, opened doors that he would open, touched things that he would touch, looked at things he looked at every day, imagined the decisions he would made about the most trivial details of life. Which of these shirts to wear? What to have for breakfast? Which side of the bed to lie on?

I was hungry, but there was little in the kitchen, the two refrigerators had been cleaned out. One of them seemed to contain racks designed for a single special item I decided I didn't want to think about. In the cupboards I found soup and popcorn. It was unthinkable, the man I had left, supernatural beast, medievel butcher, sitting in front of the television with a bowl of microwave popcorn. I heated them both in Japanese porcelain, thinking to myself, how ironic, Japanese China, and ate them sitting in his chair watching baseball on the biggest high definition television I had ever seen.

When I was done I made another drink and turned off the TV. I don't really like to drink but lately it seemed like something I ought to cultivate. It was dark and I opened the curtains again. I sat in the chair and let my mind run hard. After three more drinks it quit running and I slept poorly and dreamed of old sailing vessels, ghost ships on a sea of blood.

I awoke to a sore back and a fresh headache. I decided then that drinking is not for me. I ate some granola dry and washed it down with designer water. I cleaned up the mess I made and headed out the door in what I slept in. There was no way I was going to borrow any clothes.

When I got home, I ate a sandwich and took a shower. I felt better. After I read the paper and looked at my mail, I was ready to face my demons. I went to the safe and opened it.

It was empty.