Howard's predicament-Chapter One

“Ok man, shut up would you, I SAID SHUT YOUR FREA---“

“Howard, no foul language.” The voice in his head kept whispering to him, “How many times do I have to tell you?”

“Aw, when will that dam—“

“Howard, this is your last chance.” The voice came again.

“Ok, ok, voice, no more bad words, no more scolding.” Howard said, irritated.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the last decade, Howard.”

“Slam it” Howard muttered, “maybe it’s something in this room, better shift out before I lose my marbles.”

“That’s what you’ve been telling yourself for the past twelve years, but you never did it.”

“I might need to see a doctor, this voice is becoming to irritating.” With that, Howard groped around for the light’s switch. “Ah, here you are, switch.” And he turned on the light. “Now where are those---shoes? Ah, a psychologist. Hmmmm, psychologist. psychologist. psychologist.” The word revolved in his mind. It did not inspire hope. Neither despair. The words just came and went.

Howard continued his search for his shoes, but an hour’s search revealed nothing. “Well,” he muttered to himself, “if it must be, so be it, bears foot it shall be.” With that, he stumbled out his house onto the dimly lit street. “City authorities are not doing their work right nowadays.” He continued muttering, “I remember there were no nights when I was a boy, so bright everything was.”

Howard walked to his speeder parked opposite. “Fastest way would be through the buildings, but that’s not the cheapest way.” He started his engines and zoomed off into the highways. This, he told himself, was the real highways.

Howard had never been a normal man. People told him that. He didn’t care. Normal didn’t suit him. Out of the ordinary was much better. He wasn’t out of the ordinary either, people told him. He was plain crazy, and he loved being crazy. Jumping off the dimensioner, the tallest building on Kidney, without a parachute, then grabbing an air speeder a few miles below, was his favorite pursuit. Sometimes he lay in hospital for weeks and months recovering from a bad try. Now speeding underwater and crashing into the marine creatures was fast becoming No. 1.

Then he found out that voice, telling him to break his habit of using curse words, and it irritated him to no end. He had seen doctors, doctors, doctors. Nothing helped. Now he decides to see a psychologist. He can only hope for the psychologist to help him.

“Hey, Dr. Moondull,” Howard greeted the psychologist on his arrival. “I’ve finally come for a prescription on that voice.”

“Ah,” Dr. Moondull said laughing, “You’ve finally come, come into my office, we can then test you to see the cause of your problem.”

Together they went into Dr. Moondull’s office. It was crawling with electronic devices. The doctor barked an order, and two chairs were lowered from the ceiling. “As you can see,” the Doctor said proudly, “I’ve robots to suit my every need.”

“Are you psychotic as well, Doctor?” Howard asked apprehensively.

“Not at all.” The doctor said hurriedly, and then in a reassuring voice said, “let us tests for the cause of your problem.”

The next hour was terrifying in the extreme for Howard. He was turned upside down, poked in every place, and made to say things, which, after saying, a piercing scream would tear apart his ears.

“Doctor, what did you do?” Howard asked painfully.

“HAHAHA,” the doctor replied, “we’ll have to do a series of curing sessions. The first would start next year, make sure you be at the foot, the real foot, of the dimensioner. It is unfortunate that you have to wait for a year,” the doctor continued in a sympathetic voice, “but I assure you, if your resolve is strong, you will get rid of the voice,” “Or of yourself.” He added, when Howard had left.

Howard made his way back and immersed himself in tubs of oil, soap, and then water. It was the usual Kidney washing custom.

For the rest of the year, Howard worked hard to gain enough money to pay the staggering sum he knew psychologist would ask for at the end of all his sessions.

The end of the year finally came, and Howard laboriously walked the twenty miles to the foot of the dimensioner.

Continued…