Parasitic Love

Author's note: Hello. I'm happy to share a very successful series on which I got great feedback. As usual, I spend a lot of time developing my characters, but I promise, if you are patient, this series will bring you some very good feelings. :)

Enjoy!

TS

"Mmph!"

Stupid suitcase. It was so full that it was hard to lift it on top of the bed. Back from a two-week trip in Brazil, I may have brought back a bit too many souvenirs. At least I had fun and got to do pretty much everything I had planned, including a lot of sex from the locals; traveling while single was awesome.

I stripped naked and jumped in the shower to get rid of that layer of dry sweat that I had brought back with me. It was so good to finally be home and to enjoy MY shower that I had missed so much. It was not like the one at the hotel, and certainly not like the one in the jungle when I spent four days visiting ruins and shit.

This nice body wash scent restored my femininity as I inspected my body to see how much damage those restaurants had done. Not too bad. I was still skinny and cute, my boobs were still little and soft, and my ass round and suitable for slapping. I got quite a tan over there, though. I should try to preserve it.

After emptying my hot water tank while singing, I wrapped myself in a giant white towel and returned to my bed. I unzipped the suitcase and sighed. I had no more clean clothes to wear. Everything I owned was in my luggage and was all dirty. Tonight, I would sleep naked.

Slowly but surely, I separated the dirty clothes from the souvenirs I bought back. I already regretted having purchased half of those items, but I could always give the useless ones to my friends and family. No big deal.

I put the empty suitcase in the closet and laid down on my bed, exhausted. It was very late already, and as soon as I shut my eyes, I passed out for the night, surrounded by all those objects representing good memories. It had been an excellent trip bearing no regrets.

***

"Hmmm! What a night! I dreamed about all kinds of weird shit."

Still half-asleep, I dragged my feet to the kitchen, dropping my towel somewhere along the way, and brewed myself a coffee. Today would be a quiet post-vacation day dedicated to laundry, catching up on tv shows, drinking fun drinks, and eating frozen meals.

Naked like a worm, I grabbed my warm cup and went to sit in the living room to pretend to work on a plan. The truth was, I didn't want to do anything but watch TV and maybe text my friends.

"Bleh... I'm working tomorrow. I have no choice but to do the damn laundry."

Like a zombie, I sipped my coffee for a good twenty minutes while hugging my knees, trying to convince myself that wearing clothes was part of life and that cleaning them was the right thing to do so as not to harm my reputation.

"Come on, Alli! Get off your butt. I have to do something productive."

"... Alli? Is that your name?"

"AAAAAAAH!"

My empty coffee cup flew high up in the air and exploded on the floor on its way down. I jumped off the couch and tried to hide my boobs and crotch as much as I could. That female voice coming from nowhere had scared the hell out of me, but I couldn't see anybody around.

"WHAT THE FUCK! WHO.... WHO'S THERE!?"

Silence. Did I just dream this? My apartment was a small one-bedroom apartment, so I would have noticed right away if there had been someone around. I rushed to my towel and wrapped it around me while looking around for a potential intruder. No matter how hard I searched, I was truly alone, or at least, it seemed that way.

Where could that voice have come from? For the next ten minutes, I inspected my phone, my TV and sound system, even my alarm clock... Nothing. I didn't even have one of those stupid intelligent home devices. Nobody hid in the tub either. My heart pounded in my chest, but it now seemed unjustified. I must have dreamt it. It must have been exhaustion from my trip, or maybe I got bit by one of those mosquitos that transmitted neurological diseases.

"Weird... So weird... Alright... I'm imagining things. I better do my laundry. Maybe it's the bad smell that got to my brain."

I grabbed the pile of dirty clothes and pushed it inside the washer; sorting by color was for losers. While adding soap to the machine, I kept looking left and right in case a stranger would show up. Paranoia would certainly accompany me all day long because of the earlier event.

Then just as I closed the laundry room door...

"Sorry, Alli... I didn't mean to scare you..."

"AAAAAAAH! GOD DAMNIT! WHERE ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELF!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry! Don't yell! Please!"

"AAAAH!"

What the hell was that!? Now I knew I had not dreamt it! This female voice was SO close, but I couldn't see that woman!

"WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Sshhh Shhh! Please! Stop screaming! You... you can't see me!"

"I KNOW THAT! THAT'S THE PROBLEM! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"No, I mean... You cannot see me... I'm... invisible..."

"Uh? Invisible? SHOW YOURSELF NOW!"

"I can't... I can't! Please! Calm down, Alli! I don't want to hurt you!"

That was too much for me to endure. I ran to my bedroom and curled into the smallest ball of human being I could, pulled the blanket over me, and trembled. But it didn't help.

"Alli! Please... Just listen to me!"

"NO NO NO! GO AWAY! THIS IS MY HOUSE!"

"Stooop! Calm down... Listen, please! I said I don't want to hurt you!"

"Who... who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Nothing... I just... aaah! It's complicated. I'm just a friend."

"A FRIEND!? Are you going to rape me?"

"What!? NO! Why would I want to do that?"

I covered my ears with my hands, but it didn't help. The voice was still as clear as ever. Oh, I didn't like that at all. I totally got bit by a mosquito full of neurotoxins or something, and now it was melting my brain. I knew I should have killed the one who had bit my boob faster.

"Listen, Alli... Do... Do you remember when you went to see those ruins in the jungle?"

"How... HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?"

"Well, I was there too... You just... didn't see me."

"Are... are you A SPIRIT?"

"A spi... NO! I'm not a spirit! What are you talking about? Spirits don't even exist!"

"How come I can't see you then?"

"I will tell you in a moment if you calm down... I really didn't want to scare you. Please, get out from under this blanket and try to relax, okay? You are not in danger."

"..."

Terrified, I slowly pulled the blanket off my face and looked around me. Nobody. There was nobody. Was I really going crazy? Was that how schizophrenia started? I sat up in my bed and tried to calm my breathing. As far as I knew, nobody was about to murder me, so at least I had that going for me.

"He... hello?"

"Yes, Alli. I'm still here."

"Oh my God. I'm losing my mind!"

"No, your mind is just fine. You are not crazy."

"Who... who are you then? How do you know about my trip?"

"As I said, I was there."

"It doesn't make sense!"

"It will... I... I will tell you. But... promise me you won't get mad, okay?"

"..."

"You have to promise..."

"S... sure..."

"Well, when you were peeing in the woods..."

"YOU WATCHED ME PEE!? AAAH! PERVERT!"

"Aaaah! Stop! You said you wouldn't get mad! Let me finish at least!"

"..."

"So, when you were... busy... I had time to attach myself to your body. I've been with you since then."

"AAAAAAH!"

I jumped off the bed and ran to the washroom to look at myself in the mirror. Frantically, I checked every square inch of my naked body. What did she mean by "attached to your body?" That was super creepy, and I couldn't find anything other than perfect skin.

"Alli! Would you stop that!"

"But... but..."

"Okay, I'll show myself. But really, you have to promise me not to hurt me. You could easily harm me, okay. I'm serious. I'll show you who I am, but I'm so fragile right now. If you touch me too hard, you can really hurt me. So, please. Don't do it, okay?"

"F... fine... I won't... but if you are a spirit, I'll scream. I hate ghosts."

"Alli! Ghosts don't exist either!"

"I know that! But they still scare me!"

"Oh boy! Okay, look at yourself in the mirror."

"Okay..."

"Now, look around your ear... You'll see something. But don't pull on it, please."

I approached my face from the mirror, turned my head sideways, and moved my shoulder-length black hair out of the way to nervously look at my ear. I just hoped an insect wouldn't get out of it.

Nothing...

Oh, wait... there was a little wire circling the top of my ear and going inside it. I touched it gently with the tip of my finger.

"Haha... It tickles, Alli."

"You... you are a... wire?"

"Uh? No... follow it gently until you reach my body... I'm on the back of your neck, nested under your hair. It's warm and comfortable here."

Now I was a bit scared... I followed the black wire slowly, it got bigger, and then...

Squish!

"AAAAAH! YOU ARE AN ENORMOUS LEECH!"

"Hey! I'm not a leech! Please, don't pull on me! No!"

"GET... GET OFF ME!"

"Please, no! Just let me explain!"

"ARE YOU DRINKING MY BLOOD?"

"No! I'm not! Alli! ALLI! ENOUGH! STOP FREAKING OUT FOR A MINUTE!"

The voice, who had been kind of gentle so far, froze me using a commanding tone. Behind my neck, I felt some sort of squishy life form. As soon as I placed my finger on it, a mental picture of a leech had formed in my mind, probably because I hated leeches so much. It was slick, soft, but not very big. One thing I knew was that it didn't belong there.

"But... but..."

"I told you. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to talk. Go sit on your bed, Alli! Please!"

"... It's Allison..."

"... Well, nice to meet you, Allison."

I returned to my bed and sat on it, staring at the wall, keeping my hands on my lap. That way, I could pretend this was just a bad dream.

"Alright... So, let me explain. I come from a different world. A long time ago, my companions and I were transiting through your solar system on our big comet. Near your planet, a block of ice detached, and unfortunately, I was on it. None of my companions followed me. It took a while, but I finally landed on your planet, in that big jungle, all by myself."

"Oh, that's a bit sad..."

"Yes and no... That's how our race spreads across the galaxy. I just didn't expect to be here by myself. So for a very long time, I attached myself to different creatures. Snakes and mammals, but then I found your race, a sentient species."

"And you attached to them?"

"No. I can barely move on my own. You are the very first human I meet. I dropped from a tree while you were squatting."

"Aaah! I think I remember... I thought a bird had shit on me!"

"..."

"Oh... sorry... I didn't mean you were... like... shit. Hum... Anyway. So, you have followed me since then?"

"Yes. Because of you, for the first time, I saw what your race was capable of. You created so many things and found ways to travel very fast, and even fly. It's rudimentary but still amazing."

"Airplanes are not rudimentary! They are super-advanced!"

"Right. But here we are, Alli. I finally found the guts to talk to you, risking my life."

It was a very weird story, but also sad. Was she really all alone on a strange planet? That must have sucked. Whatever that thing was, she seemed nice, but at the same time, I could tell there was some fear in her voice. Could she be so fragile that mishandling her could kill her, as she said?

"How... How can you talk to me? Does it have something to do with your tendrils in my ears?"

"Yes."

"Are they attached to my eardrums?"

"... Well..."

"Tell me, leech lady."

"Hey! I'm not a leech, I said! Stop calling me that!"

"Well, what's your name then?"

"My name? I... I don't have one... My species doesn't use names."

"That's kind of dumb. How can you recognize each other? That won't work for me, so I'll call you Skylar... cause you come from the sky."

"... Skylar?... That's... nice... I think..."

"So, Sky, what about those tendrils in my ears..."

"You changed my name already?"

"Nooo... Skylar is your name, Sky is your nickname."

"That's confusing. So Allison is your name, and Alli your nickname?"

"You got it... Now, about those tendrils in my ears..."

"Do you live by yourself here?"

"Hey, stop changing the subject, Sky! Tell me!"

"Mmm... Alright, but don't freak out, okay. The only way I had to talk to you... was to..."

"Tell me!"

"To connect directly to your... brain..."

"WHAT?"

"It's safe! It's safe! Please! You said you wouldn't freak out!"

"... Am I... going to die?"

"What? NO! Why would you jump to such a grim conclusion? It's not dangerous. Don't pull on the tendrils, though. It will really hurt me if you do."

"Can you take them out?"

"Yes, but then we wouldn't be able to talk anymore."

This was absolutely nuts! Not only had a parasite attached itself to the back of my neck, but on top of it, it had taken root inside my brain. I wasn't in pain, but I was seriously confused about what to do next. Skylar was friendly so far, but would it remain that way? What would happen if I were to try to peel her off my neck? Could she harm me? Somehow I believed her when she said she didn't want to hurt me, but it was such an unusual situation that I didn't know what to think anymore.

"So, what now? Do you expect me to carry you around like that for the rest of my life?"

"Well... I thought... Maybe... we could be friends, Alli?"

"Friends?"

"Yes, I mean... I would love to see more of your world. But I would understand if you don't want to... Maybe you could attach me to someone else..."

"No! Sky! You can't just attach to random people like that. It's wrong."

"Is it?"

"Yes... Humans are not toys. Maybe I could put you on a cat or something, but not a person."

"Oh... okay. So... that means... you don't want to be my friend?"

"I... I didn't say that. I mean, this is pretty weird, right. I guess I could show you our world a little if you really want to. But, probably not forever, right. It would be pretty annoying never to be alone."

"... You... you would do that for me?"

"Sure... Why not? But only if you promise not to do funny things to me. I care about my brain a lot."

"No! I would never do such a thing. I've been alone for a long time. I just want to be friends with my host and see new things."

That seemed genuine enough for now. If Sky had any intention of hurting me, she could have done that already since she had apparently climbed on me about a week ago. Again, her voice really sounded like she was lonely and feared being rejected, or worse, thrown away. From what I could tell, she was a sensitive female.

I reached behind my neck and pressed gently on her back... If she had one...

Squish! Squish!

"Haha! Alli! It tickles a lot when you do that!"

"How did you survive in space and in the jungle if you are this fragile?"

"Usually, I'm not. I just didn't have anything to eat since I left my last host."

"How long ago was that?"

"About seven lunar cycles..."

"REALLY? That's like seven months ago! You must be starving!"

"I am... but, I couldn't get myself to feed on you... I mean... not as much as I would have liked."

"... you... fed on me?"

"... Y... yes... a bit... Just where I'm sitting."

"LEECH!"

"Nonono... I swear... I just ate what you were about to lose... dead skin and earwax... "

"Ewww! Gross!"

"I don't have taste buds, so a calorie is a calorie to me."

"So, what should I feed you, then? You have to eat something! I have some frozen meals and..."

"Oh, no... Nothing like that. I can only feed on my host. I mean, to recover my strength, I would just need a bit more dead skin and whatever water and minerals you are secreting."

"And how am I supposed to feed you that?"

"You... just have to let me expand over your skin. I really don't need much at this time."

"Will it hurt?"

"No! I'd never hurt you, Alli!"

"Alright, then. Crawl!"

"Okay, I'll try to be quick, but I'm a bit weak. I can't go that fast."

"Take your time, Sky."

Something started crawling on the back of my neck. I returned to the mirror to watch it go, and a dark brown slimy substance slowly appeared on the sides of my neck. It didn't hurt. On the contrary, it felt more like a gentle caress, which made me smile. It gradually progressed around my neck and joined in the front.

"Haha, Sky. That feels pretty good."

"I'm glad. I'm trying to be as gentle as I can. If you put your hands on me, I can clean your palms too."

"Okay."

As Sky suggested, I placed my hands around my neck while she was still expanding a bit more under my chin. The feeling of her feeding on me was pretty interesting. That slime was definitely alive and reacting to my touch. But despite the good feelings, I didn't want to push my luck.

"Okay, Sky. That's far enough. Stop expanding."

"Yes. That's more than enough food to regain my strengths. Thanks so much, Alli. I'll clean that area."

For a few minutes, Sky wriggled around my neck, doing her slime thing, and then retracted to the back of my neck after her meal. Of course, I had to inspect my skin to make sure she had not damaged it in any way. If I were to find a single scratch, and I was pretty sure she knew that already, I would rip her off my neck and flush this alien down the toilet.

To my astonishment, my skin was perfect... more than perfect, actually. It was as if I had purchased a premium treatment at a beauty salon.

"Wooow... It's like my skin is twenty years old again."

"How old are you, Alli?"

"Me? 31 years old."

"You liked yourself better when you were twenty?"

"Haha. It depends on how you look at it. I wish I would have my 20 years old body, yes, but certainly not my brain. I was so stupid back then."

"Interesting."

"And you? How old are you, Sky?"

"I don't know. Your years are specific to Earth. In space, there is no time. But I know I'm much older than you."

She was definitely smarter than me. If I had had a better understanding of the universe, I would probably have asked her tons of questions about her life. My world felt a bit smaller all of a sudden.

"Alli? Can I connect to your optic nerves?"

"My optic... WHAT!? NO! Why would you do that?"

"Sorry. I can't really see, so I thought it would be fun to see the world the way you do. It will be easier to understand what you show me when you make me visit your city."

"I don't know... that sounds pretty invasive."

"Not really, you won't feel a thing. Your optic nerves are close to where I am already."

"How am I supposed to know if you do things to me, then? That's scary."

"I promise. I would never do anything you don't want me to do. I only connected to your ears so I could talk to you. I had no other choice. I still feel terrible about it."

"Mmm... Alright... But if I feel a single thing, I'll put you in the orange juicer."

"I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound fun. Okay. I'm connected."

"What? Already?"

"Yes... I told you, no big deal. Oh my... Is that how you see things? So nice! Go look at yourself in the mirror. I want to see your face."

"Sure."

I had not thought about that until now. Sky didn't have eyes and probably used her skin as some sort of sensor to find her way around, but it was probably not good enough to figure out what I really looked like. I headed to the bathroom and positioned myself in front of the mirror.

"Wooow! You are so pretty, Alli!"

"Why, thank you, Skylar. I'll be even prettier if you keep taking good care of my skin."

"It would be my pleasure."

For the rest of the morning, Skylar asked me plenty of questions about the human world, our culture, our technologies. I was pretty sure all of it was unimpressive to an alien who had seen so much of the universe, yet, she didn't judge me at all. She was very curious and keen to explore and discover new things. Perhaps it was a trait of her race. If her species were the travelers they seemed to be, it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that they loved new experiences.