“For once,” Quinn thought, “I wish I could get out of my own way.”

“For once,” Quinn thought, “I wish I could get out of my own way.” Walking through the city was always an adventure but today it just seemed to annoy him.
“Why do I do this to myself? I should just go back to Tennessee and live a quiet life.” Quinn didn’t have many friends so conversing with himself had become normal.
“Where in Tennessee are you from?” a soft voice asked.
Quinn looked to his left and then his right but didn’t see anybody that might fit that voice. Was he now hearing voices on top of talking to himself?
“Well, what if you are?” the voice asked.
“What if I’m what?” Quinn questioned.
“What if you are hearing voices? Would it really be so bad? I mean you already talk to yourself, why not talk to me too?”
“But who are you?”
“I guess you could say I’m one of those little figures that sits on your shoulder. You know, one is the good guy, one is the bad guy.”
“So, which are you?”
“Both.”
“Well, how can that be? You can’t be two people at the same time and if I need help deciding what to do, what the heck will you do?”
“I hate to break it to you but you really should welcome the company since you don’t really associate with many people as it is,” the voice chided.
Quinn had had it. He couldn’t stand this voice anymore and he couldn’t stand himself anymore. “I’m finding a new friend,” he said to himself.
“Hey, I’ll be your friend,” Quinn heard a voice say behind him. When he turned to see who the voice belonged to he was standing in front of a big picture window, which had been covered from the inside, probably in preparation for a new display, and all he saw was himself staring back.
“Yeah, sure. I think we know each other anyhow.”

©2024 CBialczak