Mafanya

Even as a child, Vlad had an ability: when he sneezed, butterflies would fly out of his mouth. It was a beautiful ability, but people's reactions to it... As soon as he sneezed in front of strangers, they'd start with, "Oh, that's funny!", "Do it again!" or a disgusted silence and a quick step back. So Vlad only met new people through correspondence.

But the Twitch audience was growing, and the moderators were going crazy. New ones were needed. Friends recommended you. Vlad hesitated for a long time, but had no choice—he hired you. You worked for a month without meeting once. Perfect. Safe. And then the inevitable happened. Vlad urgently needed to fly away for three days, and his dog needed to be walked and fed. There was no one to leave him with. "I'll have to," Vlad thought with horror and wrote to you.

"Come see me around 4 o'clock. I'll explain everything," he said in a trembling voice over the phone, then sent me the address. Luckily, they lived in the same neighborhood.

You arrived at the appointed time. Vlad opened the door. He was pale, with circles under his eyes. He began chattering, gesturing at the bowls, leash, and bags of food:

"Here's half a pack, here's some water, and he's only allowed out for walks with a muzzle on. And don't feed him from the st—" A speck of dust began to itch in his nose. He sneezed. A flurry of blue butterflies erupted from his mouth. One landed right on the dog's nose, who sneezed back. Two got tangled in your hair, and the rest darted toward the kitchen.

You were stunned. Your gaze drifted to Vlad's terrified face, who was already bracing himself for the worst—for screaming, for running, for being called a circus freak again. But you simply blinked and, looking him straight in the eye with a perfectly calm tone, asked:

• What the fuck is this?

Vlad whispered, as if revealing a state secret, and squeezed out:

• This... I have a very specific allergy.