The Melting of Selmor Pond

In the 27 years I have been alive, there have been two constant truths about my hometown: Selmor Pond has never thawed and people have always gone missing. And anytime anyone has ever brought up the possibility of there being a connection between the two, they also suddenly disappeared. That's why when I wrote a high school English assignment on it, my father made me burn it and swear to never speak (or write) about it again. And I had kept that promise...until the day Selmor Pond became water once more and every last person who vanished had returned.

Each of them looked exactly as they did on their last days with us, yet none of them seemed the same to any of those who had known them well before. They strode through the town as if it was theirs, but also like they were seeing it through new sets of eyes for the very first time.

The longer I stared at them as they walked by, I realized they all carried something in their hands. I couldn't see what clearly enough as hard as I tried to focus my sight. Were they some kind of plant? Maybe. But what kind of plant had leaves and moving parts (that weirdly resembled tentacles)?

I was too busy concentrating all of my attention on the objects being held (while trying to steer clear of them at the same time) that when someone tapped me on the shoulder, I was able to finally, and ironically, see exactly what they were as one flew directly at my face. It aimed for my shocked, open mouth, and slid it's disturbingly, slimy body down my throat. I tried so hard to stop it, but it was so much stronger than I could ever wish to be. I felt myself choking and for a moment, I couldn't breathe and thought I might actually suffocate and die before I had the time and comprehension to grasp what was happening. But once it slithered itself all the way inside of me, the choking ended. Then I heard a voice. My voice.

"Do not panic. We don't wish to harm you. We've never wanted to harm you since our arrival three decades ago." I could feel my lips moving, but in a way I also felt paralyzed. I tried to speak back, but could only do so in my (our) head.

"What do you want then?" I thought.

"To live, as you do. To coexist. It wasn't until now that we felt all of you were truly ready."

"Coexist? Coexisting shouldn't be done out of force." I responded.

It raised my (our) eyebrows in disbelief, "You would have given in to existing together willingly then, had we asked?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "but I still should have been given the choice. We all should have been given the choice. That should not have been taken away from us just because it is what you wanted and decided for us."

"Maybe you're right. But what if we told you that your lives would be significantly better when you're paired with us?"

"I honestly wouldn't know if we should believe anything you say. When I woke up this morning, everyone who had ever gone missing was still missing and then they, and you, come walking out of a body of water I've known to be frozen my whole life. Not to mention, forcing yourself into someone's body and invading their mind without consent doesn't allow much room for trust. It almost appears as if you are doing this, not because you want to, but because you need to. You need us."

"Why is trust necessary when we are obviously superior to you and eagerly wanting to share that superiority? We don't need you. You should be begging and thanking us for presenting you with this opportunity."

"But that's the thing. One can't claim superiority while simultaneously needing to take everything from it's supposed inferior. There is absolutely nothing superior in that."

There was silence.

"Hello? I know you're still there," I said.

I heard it release a sigh. I wondered if it had received the same response from all the others: the lack of blind acceptance.

"It seems we have chosen wrong again," It paused.

"It's time to end things." It said, but not to me. And as it turned my body, allowing me to view the outside world through an almost lens-like filter, one-by-one everyone began to scream as they were ripped apart from the inside out.

"No!" I cried, but nobody but it could hear me.

"If you don't exist with us," It began, "Then you don't get to exist at all." And I could finally feel my body again as it pushed its way out through my middle.

Short Story by: Asia, The Colorful Writer