The Chair

Others Stories | Sep 27, 2011 | 6 min read
120 Votes, average: 4 out of 5
He found the chair one day while he was out for a walk to clear his head.  He was so mad he nearly stalked right past it.  His roommate was on his nerves again.  It was getting worse all the time.  Today they had argued about the rent money.  Tim didn't have it again.  For the third time in a row.  He didn't even seem embarrassed about it, just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sorry, dude," then flopped on the only couch they had in the living room, leaving no room for him to sit down, as usual.  His mother had warned him about Tim.  He hated that she was right.  George grabbed his keys and left, knowing if he didn't there was going to be a huge fight and he just wasn't up for it.

He'd walked for at least an hour before he noticed where he was.  Somehow he'd wandered into the rocky part of town.  Here, people just threw their unwanted items into the streets.  He  smartened up and watched where he was walking now, paying closer attention to his surroundings.  As he walked he saw all manner of home furnishings cast aside on the sidewalks.  He chuckled to himself as he realized that if he walked long enough he could furnish a small one bedroom apartment with other people's throw-aways.  There were couches and end tables, old televisions, washers, blinds and even mattresses.  He continued dodging used home furnishings as he walked and that was when he came upon the chair.

The first thing he noticed was the chair wasn't that old.  In fact, it looked fairly unused.  He found himself picturing it in the front room of his apartment.  Then he found himself wondering how heavy it was and how he might get it back home.  He pushed up the back of it to test its weight.  It wasn't that heavy.  He knew he could lift it over his head and carry it back, if he wanted.  He sat in it, to test the feel of it.  Suddenly, a crazy feeling came over him.  One phrase ran through his head.  I can solve all your problems. George jumped up and stood looking around.  There wasn't anyone near him.  I must be hearing things, he thought to himself.  He turned and sat back down again.  I can solve all your problems. George jumped up again.

"Okay, I definitely heard that."  George looked around again but this time all he saw was a cat.  "Well, you didn't say anything, did you Kitty?"  He knelt down to scoop it up.  The cat, skittish after years of abuse from the neighborhood punks, reared up and scratched George in the face.

"Christ!"  George howled and stood as he batted the cat away.  It landed on the seat of the chair.  George watched with fascination as the chair began to shake and shudder and then the cat began to claw at the arms.  It did not seem to be able to get out of the chair.  Then to George's utter amazement it just disappeared with a last yowl.  He stood there for a few minutes looking at the empty cushion.  Then he quickly made his decision.  Hefting the chair across his back, he carried it home.

*****

Tim didn't say anything when George brought the chair into the house.  George noticed that while he was gone, Tim had helped himself to the chips and dip on his side of the fridge.  When he opened the door of the apartment and struggled in with the chair, Tim didn't offer to help.  He just lay there, sprawled all over the whole couch and watched George fight to get the chair in the narrow doorway and then labor to maneuver it in place in the living room.

"Great chair, dude."

"Yeah.  Found it out by Meyer's Park.  It's really comfortable.  You should try it out."

Tim slowly got up from the couch and George held his breath.  He tried not to leap forward when he saw potato chips dribble from Tim's lap onto the floor.  Tim ambled casually over to the chair and stood in front of it, checking it out.

"Looks nice for someone to just throw it out, huh?"

George took another breath and tried to modulate his voice.  "I know, right?  I couldn't believe it myself.  It's crazy how comfortable it is, too Tim. See for yourself."  George hoped he didn't sound too eager.  He knew that was the trick.  Not to sound too eager.

"I'll be the judge of that, my man.  I know comfortable, right?"  Tim laughed at his own joke and George tried to laugh with him but he was sure, as he heard his own voice, his laugh came out as fake.

George tried to breathe quietly as he watched Tim lower himself into the chair.

At first, nothing happened.  Tim sank in and wiggled his butt from side to side, digging his body into the cushion.  He grasped the arms of the chair and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.  George began to worry.  Maybe he had imagined the scene with the cat.  Maybe there was nothing special about the chair after all.  All at once, Tim's eyes flew wide open.  He stared at George with an intensity that shot an exciting shiver through George's body.  The chair began to shudder and shake and Tim started to moan.  The sound was like music to George.

"This is for every month you made me cover the rent, Tim!"  George had to shout to be heard over Tim's escalating howls.  "This is for very time you ate my food and used my towel and woke me up in the middle of the night because you forgot your key!"  George's voice was gleeful now as he danced around the chair which was now rocking and bucking and smoking.  Tim was screaming at George to help him, help him, please Dear God help him, and he was clawing at the chair, ripping huge shards of the fabric, but the chair wasn't letting go and George was whirling around now, drunk with joy.  Abruptly, there was a loud clap of thunder, the chair fell on its side and George fell over with it and Tim was just…gone.

George got up slowly, dazed, but unharmed.  He righted the chair and repositioned it.  He knew Tim had torn pieces of the fabric but a quick examination determined that the chair had no damage.  The chair had repaired itself.   Cautiously, George sat down in the chair.  He felt the same calm feeling as he did earlier in the day when he first found it.   Looking up, George noticed the answering machine was blinking.  There was a message.

"Hello son.  It's Mother.  I'm coming over.  I'm bringing some groceries.  There's never anything decent in your house.  And please clean up, you know I don't like your apartment messy when I'm there.  Don't disappoint me as usual, George."

George erased the message and tidied the house.  He cleaned out Tim's room and threw all his belongings down the garbage chute.  When he was done, he went into the living room and looked at the chair for a long time.  He unlocked the front door and opened it a crack, just a few inches.  Then he went back and sat on the couch, stretching out the whole length of it, leaving only the chair to sit on.  He sat like that a long while.  Presently, he heard the stairs outside his apartment door.  He smiled.  Mother was coming.

 

The End

Samantha Combs

 

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Reviews

Lily Howlett Sep 6, 2013

I need a chair like that and a list

Adella Oct 7, 2011

amazing... i want a chair like that because i want my crappy sister who needs to rest in a chair like that...

Geeta Oct 3, 2011

interesting one..

Devil Oct 3, 2011

good one...

Chanchal Sep 30, 2011

so scary? unbelievable? "Samantha Combs" keep it up....

Amit Sep 30, 2011

its such a nice story. i enjoy it so much.

Lindsay Sep 29, 2011

I want one of those chairs also. Got a boss who'd fit in it perfectly.

Heather Sep 29, 2011

I've got a few brother in laws that I wanna put in this chair! Where do we find one of these?!?! lol

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