"What's wrong, Al?" the teacher asked. "You look sad." She frowned. "Why is your paper empty?" / The child said nothing. Instead, he started to cry. / The teacher sighed. "Come with me. Let's wash your face." Before she left the class, she turned to her students. "Keep writing your essays kids. I'll be back in a minute." / She stood waiting for her crying student in front of the boy's restroom. / Before long, Al appeared. And he was still crying. / "What's the matter, boy? Something happened at your home earlier?" / "Nope. I just didn't like the topic." / "Why?" / The boy snuffled. "I don't want to imagine my future." / "Why?" the teacher asked again. / "Last week, my father showed me his childhood photos. He was my age. My dead grandparents looked like my parents. They were young." / "So, Al?" / "I don't want to grow old. I don't want to make my parents age." / "But you know that's inevitable." / Al shook his head. "It's unfair. Would you mind if I write an essay about death, instead of growing old?" / "Death? No, Al. Death is not a proper topic for a child of your age." / "Okay, I guess I will deliver you an empty paper, then. I am not going to write about growing old." / Miss Kreel got angry but said nothing. / They returned to the classroom. (The fourth of Captivating Tales is a psychological horror flash fiction. 8-year-old Al is a lunatic kid who has a secret agenda to stop his parent's aging with the help of a bunch of blurry angelic beings dwelling in his psycho head.)
Schizoid
