Word: Esurient

esurient

[ ih-soor-ee-uhnt ]

adjective

hungry; greedy.

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Harry looked over the financials of his company. Most would be thrilled with what they saw. Over the last year, the company had seen an almost exponential increase in profits. Everything was going swimmingly, and there was no projected end to their growth. And Harry had a single thought about it. 

“It’s not enough.” He growled. Growth was too slow, profits too small. He wanted more. 

“I know it’s not. That’s why I like you so much.” 

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. He had been alone in his office. At least, he should have been alone. His secretary had not buzzed him, and he did not have any appointments. And yet, standing where there had been empty space just moments before, were two people. 

One was a tall, skinny woman in a crisp business suit. She had an odd kind of beauty to her. She was hardly model quality, but there was something to her. She had a certain sharpness to her. Not dangerous though, no. She had the look of someone who saw the world in one of two ways: What do I have, and how can I get what I don’t have? Harry liked her immediately. 

The other was a heavyset man with an odd build. He was of average height, but not of average width. His stomach was large, but the rest of his body was filled with the large, bulky muscles of a powerlifter. His eyes though, there was something about his eyes. They seemed to want to destroy, no, devour everything he saw. Harry could get behind that, although not as much as the woman. 

“Who are you and why shouldn’t I call security on you?” Harry asked. 

“Oh Harry, you already know who we are. You see us every day. You speak to us almost constantly. We’re practically you’re oldest friends.” The woman said. 

“Maybe you are.” The man said in a thick, heavy voice. “He likes me fine, but not like you.” 

“Oh hush up you. I’m talking.” The woman snapped. 

Harry thought. He was certain he had never seen these two before. He would have remembered them if he had. But he tried to think anyway but came up with nothing. 

“If it helps, try closing your eyes and looking at us.” 

That made absolutely no sense, but he tried it anyway. He closed his eyes and, sure enough, he saw something. Something amazing and terrible. Two beings of vast power. Both of them drew everything around them in, but what happened then was different. One gathered everything and had it simply cling to them, like a man hoarding whatever he could. Whatever touched the other simply vanished, disappearing into its form. And somehow, he knew who these two were. 

“Greed and Gluttony.” Harry whispered. 

“There, you see? You do know us.” the woman, Greed, said. 

“What...what are...how are you...” 

“Take your time.” 

“And be glad she’s not charging you for her time.” Gluttony said. This earned him a dagger like glare from the taller woman. 

“How are you here? You two shouldn’t even exist. At least, not in physical form. I thought the seven sins were just ideas. Things to keep away from.” 

“Originally, yes.” Greed said. “But after a while, ideas start taking shape. We became very real. And now we want you for something. You see, every hundred years or so, we get together and have a little contest. We each choose a human avatar and give him or her power. Then they fight, and whoever wins get a big prize. The winner not only gets to keep the power given to him, but also gains the power of the other sins. In other words, the winner becomes the seven sins incarnate.” 

Harry’s eyes widened. The very idea of that much power was tantalizing. Alluring. He wanted it. Wanted it more than anything he had ever wanted before. A wide, predatory smile crossed Greed’s face. 

“So why did two of you come?” Harry asked. “Do I start with both of your powers?” 

“No. Only one.” Gluttony said. “Since you apply to both of us, you can pick whose power you get. But we all know who you’re going with. Not sure why I even bothered to show up.” 

“You know the rules, Gluttony.” Greed said. “He has enough of you in him to warrant the choice.” 

Henry looked at each of them. “So, I get Greed, but why Gluttony? I don’t eat all that much.” Harry patted his still trim stomach. 

Gluttony scoffed. “I’m not about eating a lot. Not really anyway. I’m about consumption. I’m about excess. I’m about using more than you need. And that fits you almost as well as Greed does.” 

Harry nodded. That did make sense. And there was some appeal to having the power of Gluttony. It would probably be a lot more useful in a straight fight, even before knowing what the powers would actually be. But he knew what he would pick. What he had to pick. 

“I choose Greed.” Harry said. 

“Of course you do.” Greed said. 

“No surprise there. You two get acquainted. I’m going to find a better avatar.”  The large man disappeared, gone into whatever dimension they normally occupied. 

Greed flashed another one of her predatory grins and spoke. “Now then, my dear avatar, let’s talk.”

****************************************
Maybe a new series or something? Maybe not here, but somewhere. Well, if I ever get around to it, and honestly, that's probably not going to happen. Oh well.

Word: Evanescent

evanescent

[ ev-uh-nes-uh nt ]adjective

1. vanishing; fading away; fleeting.

2. tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.

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When Josh woke up, he felt different somehow. Lighter, like there was less of him. He checked himself in the mirror, but there was nothing wrong that he could see. He made a mental note to call the doctor after work.

                As he went through his morning routine, that feeling of something missing seemed to grow. It was a slow process. So slow it took him until he left his apartment to really take notice of the growing feeling of lightness. But it did not seem to have much effect on him, so he brushed it aside, figuring the doctor would know more.

                It was not until he got to the office that he really noticed what was happening to him. Everyone seemed to have one of two reactions to him: They either seemed to notice him much later than normal, or they would be momentarily confused, like they had to think about who he was for a moment.

                When he got to his little slice of the office, he sat paused by the cubicle next to his to ask the occupant if there was something weird going on. Josh had know the man, Greg, since before they had started working at this company, and was often the only reason the job was even slightly tolerable.

                “Hey, Greg, you getting any weird looks lately?” Josh asked.

                Greg looked up in surprise and looked at Josh quizzically for a moment. Josh knew what that look was. It was the look of someone trying to remember who another person was.

                “Hey…buddy…” Greg said. “Uh, no, I don’t think anyone’s been treating me differently. Why?”

                “No reason, I’ve just been getting weird looks lately. Hey, we still on for the game tonight?”

                “Game? Uh, I don’t know…”

                “Come on, you’ve been telling me about it all week. How this would be the big one, and the one to make the entire season.”

                “I mean, yeah, there is a pretty important game tonight, but I don’t remember talking to anyone about it.”

                “Seriously?” Josh thought about what was going on. Could people really be forgetting him? “Hey, Greg, what’s my name?”

                Greg opened his mouth and closed it. He thought long and hard about that question. “Sorry, but I don’t know. Didn’t we just meet? Hey, how do you know my name, anyway?”

                “You’ve got to be kidding. It’s me, Josh. We’ve been friends since college? Remember, you used to date my sister.”

                “I did? No, that can’t be right. None of the girls I dated in college had a brother that looks like you. I definitely would’ve remembered that.” He looked Josh up and down. “Hey, you feeling alright? You look kinda…off.”

                “Well, I mean, one of my best friends says he doesn’t remember me, so there’s that.”

                “No, no, that’s not it. I mean, you look, I don’t know, pale? And I swear I can see the wall through you. Well, kind of anyway.”

                Josh looked at his hand and his eyes grew wide. He could indeed just barely make out the outline of the floor through his hands. Was this because of the odd feeling of lightness that he had been feeling? He rushed into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Whatever was happening to him was speeding up.

                He was getting less and less visible. Vanishing a little more every second. He scrambled and pulled out his phone. He typed out a message, hoping it would help someone remember he existed. It was all he had left.

                A few minutes later, an employee entered the room, and quickly saw a phone laying on the floor. It was recently used, and a single line of text was displayed, although what it meant, the man had no idea. It read:

I am Joshua Henry Adams, and I existed.

               *******************************************

Probably the worst thing that can happen to someone. To simply stop existing. I mean, even death is in some ways better, because someone will remember you. But to simply not be there and nobody remembers you? That's much worse.

Word: Clamber.

clamber

[ klam-ber, klam-er ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to climb, using both feet and hands; climb with effort or difficulty.

noun

2. an act or instance of clambering.

***********************************

           Mike’s arms burned and his legs ached. His breathing came in ragged gasps and his face was covered with sweat. He had no idea how he was supposed to keep going, but he did. He reached up and grabbed another outcropping and forced his leg to move in a way he thought should be impossible in order to get a higher foothold. He forced his body another few feet closer to the top.

               Then he made the single greatest mistake a climber can make. He looked down. He felt his eye twitch. He had barely made it ten feet off the ground and he was already exhausted. Not only that, but his animal hindbrain kicked into full panic mode. His conscious mind knew he was perfectly safe. He was properly harnessed in a way that even if he fell, he would be lowered at a snail’s pace. And even should something happen, the floor was covered with soft matts that would keep him from getting seriously hurt. But that did not help his lesser mind. That part of him insisted he was a hundred feet off the ground and would die instantly if he fell. It then further insisted that since he was so tired, he would fall if he tried to go any higher.

               Then came the cheers and jeers of his so-called friends.

               “Come on Mike, get your fat ass up that wall!” Cried one of them.

               “You can do it! You’re almost there!” Another shouted.

               He glanced to one side and saw a girl who had to be in her late teens scramble like a monkey up a wall that was considerably harder than the one he was attempting. On the other side, he saw a man his age dangling off a wall with an overhang. And here he was, struggling to get up the easiest of beginner walls.

He once again asked himself why he had chosen this particular method to try getting in shape. It had to be the worst possible option. He could have just gone jogging or something. But no, he had to be bold and go wall climbing. He had thought that as long as he took it slow on a beginner wall, he would be able to do it. And now he was suffering for his arrogance. He was paying for it in humiliation and exhaustion.

It would be so easy to just let go. Just let himself be gently lowered to the ground. It would all be over and he could chose something better for his weight loss. Something that did not make every muscle in his body ache and his brain tell him he was going to die horribly. Something a little closer to the ground.

Then he turned back down to the people who were either cheering for him or heckling him. The people he had brought to bare witness to his success. He had told them he would climb this wall. He had damned near promised it. He had broken promises before, but never intentionally. He never set out to do that, it simply happened due to outside forces. And he would not let that trend end.

He took a deep gulp of air, filling his burning lungs. His hands trembled as he raised them towards the next handhold. And Mike continued to climb.

              ********************************

Yeah, maybe wall climbing isn't the best way to go about losing weight? I'm no doctor, but it seems like if you're just starting out, something a little easier might be better. I guess it also depends on how out of shape you are going in as well.