The Angler
It was the light, that fluorescent light. This enticing stimulus that held promises of connection, of seeing through the dark, of a bright future. Swimming through this large, lonely, murky world and finding something like this grabs your attention. I had chanced upon this little ball of hope, a bright gift from a dark space. I became obsessed with it. It took all of my attention. I basked in its warmth, grew comfortable in its presence, and shunned what was outside its glowing radius. As I got closer and more comfortable, it changed -- rather, it showed its true colours. What I thought was a beacon of hope turned out to have ulterior motives. I had paid too much attention to the light itself, and not what it had been lighting. This innocent light showed an open maw filled with metallic teeth. A sinister force wore those teeth and with it, a carnivorous gaze that showed no sympathy. I thought I had been consuming the light, but it had been consuming me. I thought it had been giving me life, but it was taking it away.