Dead Clouds

Chapter 6 (1/2): Accumulation of Ugly Feelings

Dining at the dinner table in the dining room nearly drove Radius mad. The click of silverware scratching and scraping ceramic plates produced a sound that irritated his cochlea. His legs were stiffer than the cubed piece of meat loaf on his plate dripping with steaming gravy. Mechanically, his eyes moved between his plate and the pitcher of lemonade that sat in the center of the table. In this moment, eating felt less like a biological necessity and more like a phantasmagorical ritual.

This was the first dinner he ate with his grandparents in a decade. Research consumed more of his time than he spent consuming food. The convivial nature of breakfast, lunch, and dinner were extremely time inefficient. A one-hour dinner quickly evolved into four hours of television watching. In response, Radius altered his diet to include low-effort finger foods. Fruits, vegetables, breakfast bars, and other snacks. He also avoided finger foods that left their sticky or salty presence long after the meal. The frosting on cinnamon buns and the cheese powder on certain chips were equivalent to ghosts.

A ghost was responsible for his return to the dinner table, however. Gold claimed that the inclusion of activities outside of research would improve Radius's focus on his research. Although skeptical, Radius conceded. He figured that strategically acquiescing to Gold would help solidify their partnership. Eating dinner with family was an act of kindness in the eyes of Gold. Contrarily, Radius saw the act as a personal sacrifice for the sake of scientific progress.

Even though Radius stopped eating dinner with his grandparents, they continued to inform him whenever the food was ready. The invitation was always offered regardless of how many times he declined it. So, his grandmother was on the verge of fainting when she heard his door open and saw her grandson making his way into the dining room.

His grandfather, who possessed a voracious appetite, barely touched the gelatin-like glob of meat sizzling on his plate. The sight of his grandson sitting across from him at the table was a far more satisfying treat. Finally overcoming the paralysis of shock, he broke the ice by pouring ice into a glass and offering his grandson some lemonade.

Approaching this rare occasion cautiously, his grandparents asked Radius simple questions about his day. How was his research? Did he sleep alright? Was it too hot or cold upstairs? Radius replied with hollow answers that directly addressed their questions, but left his grandparents with even more questions. They chose not to pry too much. Remaining optimistic, they hoped that this was the first of many dinners together. This meant that there would be plenty of time for other questions.

A wood partition divided the living room from the dining room. Squares cut into the partition created shelves where purple vases sat. The empty square spaces enabled the television to be viewed from the dining room. Sounds from the television created background noise as the family ate. A news anchor was reporting on the city's rebuilding efforts.

Floating above, Gold chuckled at how odd Radius looked with a fork and knife in his hand. The ghost almost believed that the scholar's hands were only capable of typing and flipping pages. For once, Radius looked like the average teenager.

Scratching his stomach, Gold stared at the food on the table with indifference. Sensations like hunger were as distant as his former life. The smell of food failed to excite his appetite. Eating wasn't an option either, since ghost grocery stores weren't a thing. The only habit that remained was sleeping. It was a dark and silent sleep. He hadn't dreamed since becoming a ghost.

"Before ending the broadcast tonight, we'd like to announce a missing person's report," started the news anchor.

On the screen, an image of Gold appeared.

He smiled in the image while holding up the peace sign. The arm of a cropped-out person was slung around his shoulders. Next to the image were his full name, age, the date of his disappearance, and a phone number.