Last week a
parasite took residence in my brain. He apologised for being a slow starter in
life, and told me one day he’d do someone proud, because his life was a joke
and he was tired of dragging around baggage that kept falling open and spilling
the gore of his past decisions over everything. “A real milestone,” he said. I
considered stabbing myself in the temple. The parasite asked me if I ever wondered
about metaphysics, or how gravity worked. He suggested I get the eczema on my
elbow looked at. He told me to visit my grandmother more often. In the end,
just to shut the damn thing up, I told him to go ahead and eat my fucking
brain.
Rupan Malakin
www.rupanmalakin.com
Beyond Black
Hilary Mantel