Take My Breath Away
Ch.1: Prologue
In the course of human events, there have been times that have changed the course of history. The discovery of lands. Angelic Medical improvements. Devastating world wars. The threat of a nuclear apocalypse. Even though it has only been five years since, I passionately believe March 2020 brought the biggest of them all.
I can recall it like it was yesterday. It was an early Tuesday morning. Mom was showering, preparing to get ready for work. Dad and I were watching CNN, something Dad even does now in the mornings. Suddenly, the words "Breaking News" flashed on the screen. I rolled my eyes. CNN had a tendency at the time to overuse those words for hyperbole and as a ratings grab. Not on that day, however.
I still recall Jim Acosta announcing that a press conference was going to happen that morning at 10:30. Allegedly, it was very important. My mind flashed to a few months prior when an Iranian General had been killed by US forces. Had Iran made plans to attack us? One of our military bases?
No one, not one of the gargantuan amounts of people that watched the press conference that morning, could have predicted what was to come. President Trump walked up to the podium at the Rose Garden, his face simply fascinated. The bomb then dropped as he uttered these words.
"We often think of life other than ours, Today, I can tell you how real that thought is."
Over the next several minutes, President Trump explained the existence of lanimals. Lanimals were monsters with human characteristics. My mind thought to tales I had read as a child. Harpy's, Centaurs, Zombies... all of them existed and more.
Mom would come out, her eyes surprised as she heard what the President was saying. President Trump went on to explain that there was an agreement in principle with the lanimal population at large to exchange ideas, and to have lanimals live among humans. Several countries were already preparing to ratify. He ended by encouraging Congress to ratify and left. I have not since seen a stunned silence that loud from my parents.
I had a dream for a few years leading to that point. It was to be a voice actor. I enjoyed it so, making different voices and expressing different emotions to entertain. Two months later, I got the opportunity to narrate a commercial for a local rock station. I was asked to express the words in a voice similar to the Transformers character Sentinel Prime.
Context should be given here. I had been in a wave of depression for almost a year at that point. I wasn't mopey or anything, I just did not understand why I did not get opportunities. When I lived in Saginaw, a large city in the Thumb of Michigan, I had applied and interviewed for several jobs. No one hired me. When my new home, Glennie, had a Dollar General built, I eagerly applied, mistakenly thinking it could be my shot. You know what they say about small towns and people often hire their friends? Indeed.
Needless to say, when I got the call that Mid-Michigan Broadcasting wanted to hire me to narrate commercials, I was overwhelmed, almost fainting. But I was so happy as well! Oh, it was glorious!
The surprises were not done yet, however.
Nestled as the first house on the dusty road known as Kings Corner here in Glennie was a two- story house with a beautiful property around it and woods behind the abode. It also had two garages. Keep that in mind.
My Mom found out through her connections that the owner was going to sell for an admirable price. $50,000. The man lives downstate, and had used the house as a summer cabin, as had his father. His wish was to pass it on to someone young who would make good use of it. When we met, he had his answer. His grip was strong, his eyes told a kind and gentle story. It was a sale at first sight. I would pay him $350 monthly. A little over 11 years, and it was mine.
The next year passed by with speed. I did my job, enjoyed my family's company, and kept taps on what became known as the Interspecies Exchange Act. Much like Medicare for All, it had firm opposition and support. That November was a historically bad night for incumbents in Congress on both sides of the aisle. Out of it however came a Congress ready to act. In March 2021, The Interspecies Exchange Act passed the United States Senate with bipartisan support. President Biden happily signed it, and it was time to work.
The only question was- did I want to be part of it?
In Michigan, the most recent summers have seen me be a home maniac. Due to my body not reading temperatures properly from having Asperger's Syndrome, I have a tendency to stay inside if its too hot, only going out if I need to e.g., getting the mail.
There came a day that July that I found the temperature fine. The forecast was a high of 75, and it was around 9 that morning. I confess that I was bored. I had no work to do that day, and I had cleaned the kitchen the previous day. I decided to stretch my legs, and to this day, I thank God I decided to that particular day.
As I was a few minutes away from being home, suddenly, a Yellow Hummer pulled and stopped next to me. The passenger window rolled down and from the driver's seat, I saw a purple haired girl with sunglasses fix me an amused stare. She looked like she could work for Area 51.
"Need a lift?" She asked. I smiled but shook my head politely. "Just a few minutes away, but thanks for asking"
"Its hot though" the girl in the passenger seat said. She was busty and looked at me motherly. She was also an Ogre. "You can sit on my lap if you want or sit in the back with Zombina and Lala." Lala was a Delahaun, basically a Grim Reaper. Zombina was well, a Zombie. Both waved at me kindly.
I, once again, shook my head. Though I did not know it, as the Hummer drove off, Liz Smith, the driver, smiled to herself. She knew not a lot of people would do the Interspecies Exchange Program in Glennie, as most were older folk. She was the Exchange Coordinator for the area of Glennie, in and around 30 minutes south of Glennie and Glennie itself. When Tio, as I would come to know her as, asked Liz what she was thinking, Liz could only smile.
"Think he would want some company, Tio?"
Liz admitted to me recently how frustrating it was for her to recruit me for the program. A few days ago, as we talked, she sighed, chuckling.
"I thought you were perfect. A young guy with a warm heart. Every time I asked, you said no, no matter how much I said the government would pay for you to be a part of things."
She was right. While financials had been a concern of mine, they were not the only one. The biggest one had been... me. Historically, I was terribly timid around those I did not know. And what if I started to like whatever lanimal I was placed with?
What would happen then?
In February 2024, 13 months ago, Liz decided to talk to me personally.
It was early evening, about 7. I was sitting on the porch in my green camping chair, drinking a Mountain Dew Zero sugar. I didn't drink regular pop anymore, and in the near two years since I began that pledge, I had lost 45 pounds. Boy, did that make a difference.
I raised an amused eyebrow as that familiar Hummer pulled up. I say familiar, ladies and gentlemen, because it was familiar. Liz and I saw each other often, usually with her passing by. Or I would see her on my moped, enjoying a cold one at her house right in town by Dollar General.
Anyways, Liz stepped out. Unlike her typical professional garb, that night she wore a simple white T, and a pair of Army pants. Perfect dress for a 60-degree night like that night.
She strode over, sitting down in the light blue camping chair next to mine and got right to it.
"David. I have heard every argument you have given over the last two years. I'm not saying you should join the Program anymore; I'm saying you need to."
I raised an eyebrow, amused. "Why?"
Then she laid it out. My amused eyes turned to ones of deep thought. "It's the last step to battle your social anxiety. You have beaten it at every level. Living on your own, going to college, having a job. Now comes perhaps romance. I know you are scared" she smiled softly, "But I promise you, I and Tio and Lala and Zombina will be there with you the rest of the way."
This caused me to pause. I conceded that she had a point. I had almost given up on romance because of my anxiety. But could this be the push I needed? Could I make friends from this?
I had to try.
Liz smiled, satisfied. "I'll come over tomorrow to help with the paperwork, okay? There's a lot to sign" she chuckled. I could only nod, as we sat in silence now. Liz could only grin internally, knowing the perfect subject for the first step of my life's new chapter.
A Lamia named Miia.