part 334.1 of a novel: my apathy was a reaction by my body to disguise the addition of illiteracy to my list of character flaws

My brain was shrinking. I’ve been doing experiments. Last week, I spent Tuesday looking at can of peas for the first three hours of my day. I almost missed work. I brought the can of peas with me. Somehow I did not eat them. Removing the label helped, but then I got curious what the dried, adhesive tasted like. I could really only taste aluminum. I gave a moment’s thought about swapping my shrinking brain for the contents of the can, but only managed to open the drawer where the can opener is kept and not actually take it out and wind it around my skull. I do not remember how Tuesday ended. There was no can of peas in the cabinets or at my office when I woke up Wednesday.