23. After being seduced by a demon, an empath ate a baby.

It was a strange time. That wasn’t an excuse. It just was what it was.

A strange time.

He’d picked up the demon at an estate sale. The candlesticks had immediately appealed to him. The sight made him think of the little hallway alcove that had been built into the house for some reason. That empty space called out to him, demanding to be filled.

He’d bought the candlesticks and brought them home. They’d fit in the alcove perfectly. Added class to the place.

Everything was great for a time. Work was going well. His house was finally feeling like a home. He was healthy and felt fitter than ever before in his life.

Of course it couldn’t last.

The dreams came first, then the sleepwalking started. The sleep emissions. The zoning out. The realization that something was really wrong.

By then it had likely already been too late.

The demon got in his head and built a home to stay. And in that time when he was lost, they’d done terrible things together.

The demon had twined itself throughout him until he didn’t know where it began and he ended.

Because he’d been so wrapped up in the feeling of things that he’d lost touch with the reality of things.

None of it had seemed real, even as it happened, and it was only afterward with the nightmares and prison cells that he’d come to realize what he’d done.

Because while they’d done it together, the demon was a demon and realized no wrong. It took a human soul to suffer for human sins.

And he’d committed a grave sin for letting it happen. For enjoying it in the moment, because whatever the strength of the demon there were some things he never should have allowed.

The sex. The scarification. The gorging themselves on any food they could reach.

It could all be forgiven.

The eating of a human baby?

Unforgivable.

x_x x_x x_x

Being known as "the baby eater" in prison wasn’t exactly the highest point of his prison sentence, but it wasn’t the worst either.

A spiritual trace had highlighted the signs of demonic possession in his aura. He was still sentenced to prison, but it was a lesser term than he would have gotten without the evidence of a demonic presence.

He took whatever blessings he could find. So that reduction of what otherwise would’ve been a life sentence was gratefully accepted.

He didn’t really think it was fair, considering what he’d done, but he raised no objection to being released just two years after he was sentenced.

A small apartment. A from-home job. And six months later he could almost pretend that his life wasn’t a completely ruined thing.

Almost.

/END

Let's Make Dumplings at Amazon

While looking for something else on Bing Rewards, I saw a skin cleanser review video link that I didn’t click but… "I tried (X-Facial Cleanser) for one week and it BURNS!!!!"

Like, WTF, man?

ANY product can burn your skin if you’re allergic to it. That’s why, when you buy/try a new product, you only use a little bit and then you wait. You DON’T use it for seven days straight while ignoring the fact that it’s BURNING YOUR SKIN.

I don’t think I have a lot of allergies, but I do go for hypoallergenic products because I’ve used skin cleansers and acne products in the past that have caused my skin to turn red and painful. Plus I’m allergic to something in Nesquik, which is why I don’t drink it, and Nair gave me SEVERE chemical burns on my underarms (but not on my legs ????). So while I’ve never had the cinematic throat-clutching "Oh god, allergies!" reaction of TV and movies, I do have sensitivities to some products. So I avoid them once I discover that my skin is feeling irritated or blisters are forming on my lips or my skin is swelling or…

Just common sense shit.

But from the video link screenshots… That lady kept using that product ON HER FACE until she BURNT her skin. Like, there’s HORRIFIC pictures of chemical BURNT skin.

I don’t care how popular and beloved a product is. Every person’s skin is different from every other person. If you find your skin reacting to a product in a way that it’s not supposed to… STOP USING THE PRODUCT.

Seriously. I have ZERO sympathy for people that continue to use products that cause them harm just so they can make "zOMG look what happened to me!!!!" videos for Likes and clicks.

That’s just really dumb.

~Pax
HarperWCK

Panoply at Amazon

It seems that clothing companies are cheaping out on production costs lately. Like, how much does thread cost? You can’t spend an extra five seconds to use a stronger stitch pattern?

I’ve had three pairs of pants split on the seams, one at the seat of the pants and the other two along the leg. And it just seems as though they used a single thread stitch, one of those ones where you pull a thread and the whole thing comes apart?

So, while it’s an easy fix, it’s inconvenient to notice a sudden split after taking the clothes out of the dryer.

I mean, I’d rather a split seam than an actual hole in my clothes, but still. Use a stronger stitch, clothing makers. Your sewing machine can do it.

Kakushigoto 01 at Amazon

Our cat Lemon passed away January 26th from organ failure. From the X-ray/CT scan the vet said her heart was too big, likely a condition she was born with, and her lungs were failing. So they painlessly euthanized her.

Since she was little we’ve been dealing with her asthma, but because the inhalers are so expensive we weren’t able to get her a full body scan. It was either inhaler or scan, then if the scan said she needed inhalers we’d be out of luck. So we went with the vet’s assumption of asthma and treated her condition as best we could.

I feel bad because I used the Devil Brush on her and pulled her skin and I spent a whole week suffering from guilt and not knowing what to do. And I still feel as though I added to her misery and worsened her condition and I’m a terrible person and…

But really, the reason why I bought the brush and started trying to groom her myself is because she hadn’t been grooming herself. Not for awhile. And she was having more asthma attacks where she would lay in the hallway and pant for breath.

There would be nights when I couldn’t sleep because I would worry that she would die and nobody would be there.

And I don’t really know what would have been worse: Being there when she passed away, or finding her stiff in the morning.

But this whole week has been so hard.

Cats and dogs come into our lives, and inevitably–for most of us–they leave first. And we’re forced to say goodbye before we’re ready.


POEM: For Lemon 1/26/24

I don’t know if there’s a heaven for cats
or what happens after any of us die
but I hope I see you again someday
somehow or somewhen
and I can touch your fur again
and stroke your soft head
and hear your little “Mew!” as you demand “More!”
To feel you wind around my legs
and hear your bell jingle as you run
so that I always know you’re there
even when you’re hiding under the chair
or running up and down the stairs
and peeking in and out of my room
letting me brush my hand down your back as I lay in bed.
The feel of your little feet on my chest
the pleasant feel of under your chin
the sight of you curled up in front of the heater
or taking up the whole chair
even though your body was small
your presence so much larger than the physical you
making me miss you like I lost a giant piece of my soul.
I wish I’d taken more pictures
and saved more memories
because the without you is forever
and I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again
or if this life was it
and our moments have passed
and I’ve lost my sweetest friend.