brainstorm: "empathy" by dengeki dahlia ₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ aug 3, 24

i am considering writing a short book; a boy with some personality disorder symptoms (unspecified aspd??) who lives a life without a bond towards others because he lacks empathy. in his world, he thinks it's silly how neurotypical/"normal" humans are so sensitive. his conscious is dead, like ditheringly speckles of no self-deprecation. chapters of his story flipped past his eyes. in the quarter-section of his life, it introduced a peculiar girl. to describe her in simple terms are: emotional, exhilarating, but most of all, kind-hearted. her knack to understand him was surprisingly comforting, though it was not clear to the boy at the time. truly, something separated her from the rest, so that peaked the boy's curiosity.

the girl had full knowledge of this individual's socio-tendencies. but an unexpected concern emerged and she had to leave her friend for some time (i haven't covered that part yet). the boy had a hint of something missing, but being his typical self, he shrugged it off and went on with his callous life.

reintroduced yet again, the girl miraculously bloomed back into his life. he was semi-baffled to meet her again. in a sense, he enjoyed her company. though he did not have that emotion connection, what the two had was very real to the girl. she was content whether or not the boy only held on because she was his "favorite toy." she loved the him for his uniqueness, since apparently it was rare to find his kind. as some time has passed, both characters mutually agreed to start a relationship with full knowledge of the challenges. one day, they had a night walk along the city shoreline. as the moon towered above the body of water, the couple decided to rest on a bench and gaze at the starry night. the girl evidently stared in awe. the glistening sea unleashed a different aura when the moon reflected on it. the boy zoned into the luminating scene. then he slightly turned his head to the left and glanced at his girl--the one he possessed--and just for a fleeting moment, he felt the colors surround his world. a rollercoaster of emotions whirled around them. he couldn't believe his eyes. in the 20 years he has lived, empathy wasn't tangible (until now). streams of tears welled up and he could feel a lump form in his throat.

of course the crying was noticeable. when she saw him crying, she was astonished. he was seldom that close to that emotional state. it was true that he never cried (besides once, which was self-induced). but as shocking it was, all she did was scooch closer and hugged his frail soul.

though he was happy to finally grasp this warm affection, a massive part of him was full of loathing. how dare he be a horrible person! how cruel it was to give his girlfriend the cold shoulder 24/7? how disgusting was he to discard all those ethical morals. and he hated himself. the only thing holding him together was the person who decided to accept him regardless of his metal disability. he knew full well that the next day all these colors would fade away because that was the way his brain worked. but even then, the girl's warm arms that wrapped around him were enough.

"I love you," uttered the boy.