Microstory 1544: Communication Skills

< > Table of Contents

I was born with a ________ ability that, for some reason, people have ________ understanding. They think I can ________ with animals, but that doesn’t make much sense, because most animals have no ________ language, and the ones that do still can’t hold a ________ conversation. All I do is manipulate the ____’s emotions and demeanor. I can make it feel ________, or ________, or combative. Or I can do what I normally do, and just make it ________ safe and comfortable. Most of the time, it’s a temporary ________. I can prevent a rabid dog from ________ his neighbor’s young ________, or make a feral cat relax so the vet can ________ it. If I try hard enough, though, I can also tame an animal ____nently. I can ready a ________ horse for a saddle, or give zoo-goers the ability to ________ right up to a tiger, and pet it on the ________. I don’t generally do this sort of ________, however, because I kind of feel like it’s a violation. Sure, they’re not ________, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be respected, or to make ________ choices they feel are necessary. Who am I to control their ________? One thing you have to understand is that humans are ________ as well, and while commanding their ________ and behavior is much more difficult than it is for other ________, it is not im____. Obviously, it’s even ________ of a violation, however, so I’ve only ever done it ________. And that was just to ________ if I was capable of it. The subject consented to my ________, and I ________ him from any hold I had over him ________ afterwards. I possess no ambition to ________ any____, for any ________. I worked very hard to prevent ________ from knowing that my ________ could extend to humans, and while I was successful in that, I couldn’t stop a smart ________ from figuring it out on his own using ________ logic. Now I have the government breaking down my ________, trying to get me to ________ for them. I could help so many ________, they say, make the ________ a better place, they claim. I’m not interested, and I won’t do it, but these ________ are relentless. They leave a white van on my street permanently, and someone ________ on my door every day. I would change my ________ and move if I thought it would help, but they would find ________, and I wouldn’t be able to use my gift anymore either way. Today, I’ve had ________. They’re going to drive ________, and leave me alone, or they’re gonna get an earful. I powerwalk across my ________, and approach the ________. We get into a heated ________ which escalates by the minute. I’m yelling, I’m imagining the evil ________ yelling too, but they’re truthfully staying ________ calm. They still won’t let up, though, and I just can’t take it ________. I ________ at them to drive away, never return, and forget they ever knew I ________. To my ________, that’s exactly what they do. I watch my window for ________, but I never hear another ________ out of them. Perhaps I have underestimated the ________ of my abilities.