Read Online Obsession by Carmelo Massimo Tidona - Free Book Online

Obsession
     
    When Sylke opened his eyes, the light in his room made him understand that the sun was still visible in the sky.
    Since he had currently no job, he preferred to sleep during the day, but after some time it became clear to him that he would not fall asleep again, so he decided to get up.
    With his eyes half-closed, he walked to the kitchen and opened his cupboard, finding himself staring in empty space. He stuck a hand in anyway, hoping to find something that had eluded his eyes, and when he pulled it out he was holding some cheese which colour didn’t match any of the of the known hues of the visible spectrum.
    He stared at it with a vacant expression, wondering whether a new population of microscopic sentient creatures was staring back at him from its surface, then he threw it away. He definitely had to hit a store.

    He washed his face with cold water, brushed his teeth, and only after that he allowed himself to look in the mirror. His hair was too short to need combing. His face still looked freshly shaven, with the exception of the thin line of silver-grey beard following the curve of his jaw and circling his lips.
    He decided he needed no further cares, so he walked to the wardrobe, wearing a full set of black clothing – socks, slacks, boots, shirt and gloves – covering almost every inch of his ash-grey skin.
    Eventually, he went to the door and left the house, not without taking from a corner near the entrance a humble-looking roll of cloth. Once outside, he unrolled it in front of the door, revealing what looked like a green gym mat.
    He sat on it crossing his legs, focused his mind on his destination, and soon after the mat became rigid and started flying in the twilight sky, pointing at the nearest supermarket.

    He didn’t like to go shopping, and the state of his cupboard showed it beyond any doubt. Most of all, he didn’t like being among people. He was always under the impression that everybody was looking at him, as if he had stuck between his teeth some of that cheese he had carefully avoided to eat. He knew he wasn’t that different from rest of the varied local population, but this never sufficed to convince him that he could easily mingle with them without being noticed.
    He started wandering among the shelves of the food department, without a precise target in mind. He grabbed without stopping a dark loaf in a transparent bag – he didn’t really know what it was, but he was reasonably sure it was something edible – and dropped it in his cart, then moved toward a pile of interesting-looking boxes.
    Around him he could hear the typical chit-chat of the most different people, and the air was vibrating with the notes of some song he had never heard, while the ever present advertisement where being repeated softly.
    “ Visit the new crystal department, just for today… Sylke!”
    The telepathic words of the speaker mixed with the one coming from his communication crystal.
    Recognizing the voice as that of detective Lars Seymourn, and perceiving some urgency in his tone, he didn’t let him call again before answering.
    “ I’m here, what’s up?”
    “ Could you come to the precinct?”
    “ I am buying a few things” he answered while moving toward the counters. “I have to go back home first, but I can be there soon.”
    “ Good. Come straight to homicides.”
    “ Homicides?” he couldn’t help asking. Seymourn never hesitated to ask for his help when needed, but the head of homicides was known for disliking any kind of interference in investigations – that was how he called that – and it was really unusual for him to want him there... unless he wanted to accuse him of something.
    Meanwhile, he had started handing his purchases to the cashier – a heavily made-up gnome lady who luckily must have noticed that he was engaged in a conversation, and hadn’t started chatting – who was looking at them with a critical expression before putting them in a bag.
    “ Yes,