Alan in a Bubble

There once was a boy in a bubble. His name was Alan Bliven and though he wasn’t born encased in the bubble, he scarcely remembers a day without it. No one could see this bubble and only Alan can feel its barrier to the outside world. Only his parents, his sister, and a few of his closest friends (of which he already had few to begin with) believed that there was anything there to begin with. There were days when the skin of this bubble was impenetrably thick making breathing or even thinking difficult tasks for Alan. Then there were other days (days that were few and far between) when the skin of the bubble was so thin, Alan would forget there was a bubble at all. But the Bliven family lived in a rather dangerous neighborhood and the bubble did serve well to protect Alan from the influences of local sorts with questionable moral compasses.

In grade school and all through junior high, Alan realized that the bubble would protect him from the condescension of close-minded teachers and would-be bullies. However, Alan never realized that the bubble was indiscriminate in who it was keeping out of Alan’s life. Any potential friends that Alan could have made went by unnoticed because of said bubble. As a result, young Alan was a lonely boy who kept to himself.

He spent a lot of time in the library and that’s where he found a book that said that his condition was rare, but not terminal fortunately. The book mentioned that the thickness of the bubble was affected directly by Alan’s emotions. The angrier or sadder or lonelier the boy grew, the thicker the skin of the bubble became. Instead of seeking help, he kept his findings a secret feeling that he was a freak. Besides, he didn’t want to seem ungrateful to the bubble that, until recently, had been very protective.

When the awkward years of high school rolled around, the bubble protected Alan from the eyes of his fellow classmates. Puberty went by practically unnoticed as the bubble had prevented him from being completely self-conscious about his changing body. Social scenes that were all too crucial to the average teenager meant nothing to the teenaged Alan who seemed to walk the hallways with a level of anonymity that he felt all too comfortable with. Alan had a single encounter with a girl that ended in humiliating heartbreak. It was then that the bubble grew thicker than before and had a new mission: to prevent heartache by actively avoiding any chance at any relationship, romantic or otherwise. By the time he graduated, Alan’s bubble would not only be at its thickest but would become a part of him. Touching things felt as if they were being felt through gloves.

College would turn out to be a major turning point in the life of Alan Bliven who spent a majority of those years in the campus library, either nose buried in books or taking naps until his next class. On one of his daily visits to the library, Alan would stumble upon a study in a scientific journal that found this bubble might not ever fully disappear but it can be managed so that it does not interfere with one’s life. All it takes to diminish the effects of a thick skinned bubble, the journal mentioned, is to disrupt the triggering behaviors that feed the bubble. Alan determined that for him to overcome the ill-effects of the bubble, he would have to make strong connections with people; he would have to risk getting hurt every so often. And perhaps, he would remember the sensation of touch without a glove-like bubble to hinder him.

It was difficult at first, but Alan would force himself to show up at social gatherings such as parties and study groups and festivals of all sorts. But he realized all too quickly that socializing is one of those necessities in life that no one bothered to write a book about or design a class around. He felt that he was years behind and failed to pick up on current slang, subtle signals, and was just generally ignorant on what would be considered general knowledge of social cues and protocol. It seems that while he had wanted to get out of his own bubble, the rest of the world was content to create bubbles of their own, isolating everyone from everyone else. Alan’s heart dropped. He had forgotten what it was like to make a real connection with anybody; what it was like to feel joyful and even what it was like to feel pain. It seemed all hope was lost.

One day, Alan was driving home when he noticed that there was some sort of event at the park. There were many tables set up and several cages. It turns out that many local animal shelters had gathered to organize a pet adoption day. He remembered always wanting a dog but the Bliven family could never find the money or the time to do so. There was a pen where all the small dogs roamed freely and visitors could interact with them safely. Alan climbed inside and sat at the corner, perfectly content to watch the dogs running around with their tails wagging as they tried to butter up someone to bring them home. A small skinny dog with red fur approached the quiet Alan and sniffed around him shyly. Alan smiled and noticed the dog hanging its head coyly.

“Hello there,” Alan said to the little pup. The dog lifted its head up just enough to make eye contact with Alan. It then walked towards him and sniffed around him. Alan was curious as to whether the dog could sense the bubble’s presence.

“How are you?” Alan asked with his hand outstretched. The little pup sniffed the palm of Alan’s hand and began to lick his fingertips. Alan could feel the pressure of the tongue on his skin but all sensation still felt hindered by the bubble.

The dog looked back up at Alan, making eye contact, and cocked its head inquisitively before climbing on to Alan’s lap and climbing up to lick his face. Alan couldn’t help but feel smitten with the dog until all of a sudden he could feel the wetness and warmth of the tongue. The bubble was at its thinnest in years. Alan started to laugh to himself as tears rolled down his cheeks. He would sign a check and a few papers and that was that. Alan didn’t go home alone that day. The bubble is still there and it always will be. But Alan won’t have to worry about returning to a state of complete isolation as long as his new best friend is there to welcome him home, wagging tail and all.