they told me the future is friendly

by Carol Krause

Support Into the Void by reading this piece in a beautiful print edition of Issue #18 that’ll look great on your bookshelf.

don’t hide from me, they said. it was thirty-two years from now. and they
had finally figured out how to fix people. at least the people they decided
were broken. i crouched low and pretended they didn’t see me. but they
did. they had gloves on. and their name was written in bold letters on
their glowing business cards. they told me the future is friendly. as they
carried a giant net in their spinning hands. we only want to help, they
insisted. i tried not to fall into their giant eyes and invisible mouths. i don’t
want your help, i mustered. then ducked within myself. it won’t hurt a
bit, they said. and it didn’t. they took part of me with them. and they said
this wasn’t stealing. it was progress. when i awoke, there was a band aid on
my brain. and a tag around my wrist. the part of me that was missing had
disappeared. you won’t need that anymore, i heard them say. even though
they were gone. and they were right. i didn’t need it anymore. i didn’t even
remember what they had stolen. after that, i was able to live in their world
more easily. travel across the city. cook for myself. have a conversation about
the weather. but sometimes when i looked up at the sky, i remembered. it’s
hard to describe what it is i felt. but the whole world was pulsing through
my veins. and for three whole seconds, i loved what they labeled insane.

• Author Details

Carol Krause Contributor

Carol Krause lives on disability support and poetry, and feels most alive crawling through caves. While she struggles to make a salad out of a bag and walk on noisy streets, her naturally psychoactive mind comes in handy when writing poetry. When asked to describe her experience, she stumbles over pointy words like schizoaffective, and after a number of awkward collisions, decides it’s best to use the word human. Carol’s poetry was recently published in carte blanche, CAROUSEL, PRISM international and Minola Review, and is forthcoming in The Fiddlehead.