My head pounded as I awoke in the middle of the night from a troubled sleep, a buzzing sound ringing in my ears. I just wanted to ignore the buzzing, ignore the noise, but I knew deep down that if I did not locate the source and tend to it, it would torment me all through the night. Gazing at the clock, I rose from my bed and trudged down the hall, eventually entering what was once a vacant guest room, now occupied by my niece who had broken her leg (or had she been faking it all along?). The buzzing noise had come from a device I had installed in the house so that whenever she needed something, she could use it to call for someone. Despite the outrageous hour, she demanded something sweet to snack on, and I knew that, no matter how much I protested, I couldn't refuse her.
My memory here is a bit hazy. I remember she wanted chocolate pudding, but after telling her that we had none she insisted that I go out and purchase some. I must have been exhausted because all I can remember is going to a gas station and being handed pudding mix by the cashier. I don't remember driving to or back from the store. The next thing I recall is my wife entering the kitchen as I concocted the coagulated dessert.
"Stu, what are you doing?", she asked.
"Making chocolate pudding"
"It's 4 o'clock in the morning. Why on earth are you making chocolate pudding?", she inquired in the kind of concerned voice only a loving wife can.
"Because...", I began, dejected due to the realization of just how much of a slave I made myself to my niece's demands, "...I've lost control of my life".
After completing the fudge-flavored custard, I and my wife returned to the guest room. Holding the bowl of pudding with trembling, tired hands, I stood next to my wife and presented the dessert to the tiny, blonde-haired girl,who was undoubtedly watching something violent and otherwise inappropriate for her age, given the sounds coming from the television.
"Here's your pudding, Angelica"
The words I heard next have forever changed me.
"That's ok, Uncle Stu. I'm not hungry anymore"
I stared blankly into the distance, taking in what I had just heard. I let out a scream so loud that I'm shocked I can still speak properly, let alone the fact that my vocal cords remained unscathed. I haven't been the same since, and I have never touched chocolate pudding again.