The New Normal [NN2021] non writer

One annoying summer night at the river. An old hippie put a ruinous thought into his head.

It happened after what was meant to be a nice dinner with what he hoped, his soon to be woman.
It turned out to be the beginning of a series of events leading him to the brink of sanity.

He was on time as always, 14 minutes and a message later he knows, he got stood up...
still he's hungry and goes on to get a table.
There was only one free table and it was in the middle of the room.
He likes to be seated on a wall, the menu he likes isn't available, it's getting worst by the minute...

While waiting for his food he checks his surroundings. Two families both composed of 4 members stood out to him.

They were at the spots he would have liked to be seated, forming a straight line with him in the center.

To his right was this well fed, relaxed and funny, rather sloppy looking family.
To his left this athletic, literate and fashionable, rather tight knitted looking family.
Somehow he caught looks from them, that started to give him an unease.
something energetic was happening to him.
It kind of felt like he was in the middle of two polarities trying to win him over as if he had something that was worth the effort.

The unease became too much and he left after the first plate.
After walking it off and putting it behind him as some stress related happenstance, he sat down at the river to relax some.

When this old hippie approaches him asking if he minded company.

Out of the blue he starts to tell him that the world was invaded long ago by two highly evolved rivalling species.
One related to the fishes and the other related to the birds.
Their problem was, not being tuned into earth's morphogenetic field, and thus the need to manipulate the locals creative energy flow.
If that wasn't enough he also got told that he was one of the locals and his creative energy very powerful.

His first instinct was always to laugh such conspiracies off, but after what he just experienced he couldn't help to give it at least a thought.

The longer that thought brew the more it started to make sense.
After a while he started to notice certain facial features which could indicate a connection to either species, he started to be concerned when he noticed that the locals were few and slightly freaked out when he learned most had some reproductive systems issues.
A simple observation that grew into an obsession.
Was he really all alone...

He was in a state of constant stress, most every one was either looking birdy or fishy and the locals where absolutely innocuous... Every doctor he seeked for help was looking birdy, and that didn't help either...

The relief came unexpected, when suddenly everyone started wearing masks, covering these facial markers that triggered his paranoia.

He was so glad to hear that this will be the new normal...

The end

a reply to: Terpene

Nice twist!

P

a reply to: Terpene
s&f
I didn’t know what to expect and I was pleasantly surprised. Nice story!


I’m trying to write a story but I haven’t written anything since 2018 and I’m rusty, dusty and lil crusty!

a reply to: CrazyBlueCat

Glad you like it... The more I read it the less I like it

a reply to: Terpene

Stop reading it.
For reals, it’s good, I can see it. Now I want a cartoon version to watch.

a reply to: CrazyBlueCat

Now I want a cartoon version to watch.

can you do it? that would be fun, let`s just hope the poor bugger never sees it

can you do it? that would be fun

I wish! That would be fun! I tried to doodle a bird person but couldn’t figure out how a fishy person might look

a reply to: CrazyBlueCat

Maybe like that...

a reply to: Terpene

hahahahahahaha!!

I feel kinda bad for laughing

a reply to: Terpene

An intelligent take on mask and a Conspiratorial twist nice .

Nice writing.

a reply to: CrazyBlueCat

it is the best remedie ever, never feel bad about it! there are plenty of others that already feel bad because you laugh, at least one gets to enjoy it

a reply to: asabuvsobelow

Thank you for the kind words...

Even if I don't like this story as much as my other contribution from the prosaic point of view, the twist still makes me chuckle.