HIKIKOMORI

< by ellen kennedy and tao lin >

dear ellen

a homeless ugly fish finds a cell phone in a field. the homeless ugly fish looks at the stored numbers and sees 'mom.' he calls and asks if it can have ten dollars for reward money. the person agrees. the homeless ugly fish walks around. it is very cold and late. the homeless ugly fish screams in agony occasionally while walking around. he is thinking of anyone to call. he thinks 'there is no one.' 'there is no one' echoes very loudly in his head. he dials 911.

'rescue 911,' says a female voice

'help me,' the homeless ugly fish says in a quiet monotone. 'i'm been hit.'

'are you bleeding sir?'

'yes. it hurts.'

'where are you located sir?'

'i've been shot. i'm bleeding a lot. i need to shit.'

'where are you located sir? we'll send a unit there immediately.'

'i just need to shit. i'll be okay.'

'are you sure sir?'

'yes. i just haven't been eating. i'm homeless.'

'okay. good night.'

'good night.'

the homeless ugly fish feels calmer. he walks around and then looks at the saved text messages on the cell phone. one says 'thank you good night kiss hug rape lick very soon happy good night.' the homeless ugly fish stares at the text message and feels very lonely. he sits on the ground and digs a hole and puts the cell phone in the hole and then covers the hole with a rock. he thinks 'mission accomplished.' he stands and runs away. when he runs tears come out of his eyes onto his cheeks.

tao

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