Obsolescence of the Soul


She chipped away at her nail polish, wishing she hadn’t shown up to the diner.
“Come on, Jo, you have to eat,” he placed his finger under her chin, lifting her face to
look her in the eyes.
Jocelyn shook free from his grasp, “You know I can’t, Olly.”

She looked out the window, watching the traffic. The rain was falling, and she was still wet from the walk to the diner.

Looking back at Oliver, she felt her heart drop. His hands were in his lap, and he had been staring out the window, too. What’s going on in that mind? She knew why he had asked to meet her at the diner – it was all in his plan to get her to eat again. After all, she hadn’t had a bite for two days.
“Please, Jo,” his voice was wavering, “for me?”
His dark, brown eyes penetrated through her and she felt a pang of guilt. Why did I come here? She knew she wasn’t going to eat and that was torture for Oliver.
            “You can’t survive on an apple every few days, Jo,” he grabbed her hand, exposing the
mountain of chipped nail polish on the table.
            “I know, Olly. I can’t help it,” she sighed.
            “Look, I know you just got out of the hospital, but you need to take this seriously. There
are serious risks of continuing this-” she was starting to zone out.
She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror behind Oliver. The dark circles forming under eyes her made her face look gaunt, but she couldn’t see that. Nor could she see the bones protruding like statues from her shoulders, or the dark, patchy bruises that littered her body. She was malnourished, but she saw nothing but fat. She longed to be thin, and she wouldn’t stop until she liked the way she looked.
            “Jo, I just really -” his voice began to fade as her vision got fuzzy.

There was a faint buzzing in her ears and she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. It was similar to the low hum of the lights at the hospital. Everything was getting dark, and her eyes focused in on Oliver. He was reaching out to her, but he was moving sideways. She realized what was happening; she closed her eyes as her head hit the floor. There was a sharp pain, but it disappeared quickly. She gave in to the overwhelming sensation of total darkness. Sleep, blissful sleep.

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