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People always ask me, "Does it hurt?" |
This story came from a visit to the dentist. I was given local anaesthetic, and as I waited for it to take effect, I glanced at the magazines in the waiting room. One magazine had a cover headline: "How I Lost Eleven Stone And Found Love". (Here in Britain, a stone is an old-fashioned unit of weight: fourteen pounds, or just over six kilograms.)
The magazine's story was a heartwarming tale of someone finding romantic fulfilment, after losing weight through the conventional methods of diet and exercise. I thought it would be much more interesting if you could lose weight by owning an alien flesh-eating parasite that would crawl across your skin, insert its proboscis deep into your body, then feast upon your flabby torso.
This bizarre image may have arisen because I was numb and woozy from the anaesthetic — or perhaps it was simply because I have a twisted imagination. As I walked home from the dentist, still feeling somewhat unfocused, I mentally sketched out a story based on this initial premise. It was one of the rare occasions when everything popped into my head straight away, with minimal effort.
The result was a short story that combined elements of science fiction, horror, comedy, and romance. All this in under 4,000 words — what a bargain!
Whenever I go back to the dentist, I always look through the magazines,
hoping that inspiration might strike again. But it hasn't yet.
Perhaps some stronger anaesthetic is required....