Calories

Helen Maitland opened her eyes and felt confused.  She was sitting at a table with places for twelve people, complete with all the silverware and china.  It looked very elegant.  Only she had no idea how she got there.1

There were no windows in the rooms and the walls were covered in mirrors.  Overhead the biggest crystal chandelier she had ever seen hung and added to the impression she was somewhere that reeked of wealth and luxury.  This was hardly an environment she was used to experiencing. 2

It really gave her an incredible sense of anxiety to not know how she had got into this room and she was sure she hadn’t been there before.  Not that she was complaining, it just made her uncomfortable to be unable to remember how she ended up in this picturesque dining room.3

Suddenly on the table there appeared an unbelievable array of gourmet foods.  There were also incredibly huge size portions of all the food she loved the most.  And they smelled utterly fantastic.4

She knew she shouldn’t eat them.  After all she did have a serious weight problem and the foods that had mysteriously appeared were all hopeless fattening.  But she loved them so.  There was no way to resist.  Perhaps she would just take a bite or two to satisfy her appetite.5

Only before long instead of a bite or two she had consumed almost every ounce of food on the table until she was so stuffed she could hardly breath.  Then came the waves of self-accusation and guilt.  It always made her feel far worse than if she hadn’t given in to her appetite.  The abiding sense of fullness in no way left her satisfied.  All it did was remind her how weak she was in terms of eating.6

Helen began to cry.  She closed her eyes in shame and let the tears roll down her cheeks.  If being in this place was a dream, it had turned into a nightmare.7

A few seconds later she opened her eyes and was shocked to discover that she was back in her cubicle at work.  And she didn’t feel full nor were there any tears on her cheeks.8

She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, looking around to see if anyone was watching.  It must have been a dream, which was a very strange and disturbing one.  Helen wondered if the new diet pills she was using could cause hallucinations?9

Well she would have to wait till later to sort it out.  Right now she had some reports to enter into the computer.  She doubted her boss would accept an excuse that she had just spent who knows how much time in some elegant dining hall stuffing her face.  He would no doubt have believed the eating part.  Although he had never openly commented on her weight, his eyes showed his lack of respect for her full sized figure.10

At least he didn’t resort to any direct insults.  His style was more one of discrimination.  With her he was strictly business.  He never smiled or asked how she was doing.  The man reserved such socialization for the couple of girls who worked for him with great figures.11

Helen hated that kind of discrimination.  It was always so cruel in terms of rejection, but you could never get the person to admit they hated you because of your appearance.  That made it all the more annoying to her.12

Looking over at the clock she sighs from relief.  The workday was finally over and it had been more than a bit stressful.  Work itself had given her a headache.   There had been more than the usual number of reports to input into the computer and too many of them needed some form of correction.13

But all of that was secondary in her thinking.  What really nagged at her was having that whatever it was, either a dream or vision or something along that lines.  It was all about being trapped in some dining room and stuffing her face till she couldn’t eat another thing.  The only consolation was in the fact that it hadn’t been reality.14

Traffic on the way home was the usual gridlock of aggravation that she really didn’t need.  Some days it was worse than others and today the accident gnomes were apparently working overtime.  By the time she got home she felt totally exhausted and most of all starving from all the anxiety.15

Dropping her purse on the couch she headed for he kitchen.  She hurried to the refrigerator and was too hungry to wait for fix anything.  As usual she went for the ice cream in freezer.  It wasn’t nutrition, but it tasted great and that is all that counted at the moment.16

Then the strangest thing happened.  She suddenly wasn’t hungry any longer.  In fact that feeling of being completely stuffed like she felt during that dream came over her.  No matter how much she wanted the ice cream, her stomach just screamed no.  Putting the half-gallon container back in the freezer, she opened the ice box and grabbed a can of diet pop.17

As she drank it she was surprised how satisfying it was.  Her mind kept telling her it wasn’t enough, but her body told her it was.18

Going back into the living room, she sat down on the couch and turned on the television.  Flipping through the channels she settled on some stupid old movie and then lied down on the couch and tried to relax.19

Not having indulged her impulse was a strange experience.  She had never had a situation where any degree of self-control over her appetite had occurred.  So naturally she had mixed emotions about it.  On one hand it felt good to be free from the guilt.  Yet in the back of her mind she wondered how long before she would cave in and rush into the kitchen to load up on a ton of calories.20

The cool air and calm atmosphere really helped Helen to relax.  Before long her eyelids got incredibly heavy and then she slowly closed them.21

The next thing Helen knew she was back in that same dining room.  And once again she was alone.22

As before she couldn’t move from her chair, but this time deciding this was some kind of dream she relaxed.  And when the food appeared on the table it didn’t bother her in the least to eat it.23

This time it was pizza and all her favorite kinds along with garlic rolls too.  Well if it was a dream she was going to enjoy it.  She reached for a slice of pizza and quickly devoured it.  Soon she had polished off one pizza and started in on a second one.24

The most amazing thing of all was the lack of guilt.  She just knew this was all a fantasy so it was safe to eat whatever without the usual sense of fear that it would make her gain weight.25

Finally, she sat back, feeling incredibly full and at the same time utterly content.  Helen still had no clue on how she had gotten back to this place, but it sure was paradise for a compulsive overeater.  And as before when she closed her eyes and then opened them again, she found herself back in her apartment.26

During the night panic struck her like a lightning bolt.  What is she had really eaten all that food somehow?  Her mood and heart sunk incredibly low at the very thought she would end up in the morning getting on the scale and finding out she had gained weight.  It was enough anxiety to keep her from sleeping most of the night.  Her clothes already felt tight on her body, she didn’t need them not fitting at all.27

The next morning the alarm screamed in her head.  Twice during the night she found herself visiting that dining room again.  And both times, although the food was different, she had stuffed herself to her heart’s content.  Only now, did she truly fret reality.  Always before such indulgences carried consequences.  She just knew when she got on the scale it would show that she had gained weight.  Judging from how much she ate she figured at least five pounds.28

Going into the bathroom, she stepped on the scale with her eyes closed and debated if she truly had the courage to look at it.  Finally, exhaling with one last desperate surge of resignation she stared down at the scale.29

Helen couldn’t believe what she saw.  Not only hadn’t she gained weight, but she had actually lost two pounds!  Shaking her head, the tears of joy streamed down her cheeks.  After years of only seeing the scale go up no matter what diet she tried for the first time in her life it was being kind.  She stepped off the scale and felt an incredible rush of euphoria sweeping over her body.  This was fantastic.  Helen still had no clue on how why she was having those weird eat all you want dreams, but she did know they weren’t hurting her in times of weight.30

And when she went into the kitchen she again tried to grab something to eat, but just couldn’t.  One more time she felt so darn full the idea of eating anything just made her sick.31

As the days passed Helen found herself visiting that dining room more often.  And she was having the time of her life in terms of eating all her favorite foods.  Yet, in real life she was barely eating anything.  It was really beginning to show.  Even her boss made a comment about how she was certainly starting to look slimmer.32

Naturally several of her girl friends bugged her to ask her secret.  How could she tell them it was from a dream?  Instead she mentioned using a new diet pill.  That was true because she had been using a new diet pill.  But she just hadn’t really felt it had much to do with those dreams.33

Or did they?  For the first time it occurred to her that she hadn’t had the first dream until after she started taking those pills.  Could they be the cause?  Well if they were she wasn’t complaining.  She felt great and was starting to look great and best of all she was having so much fun stuffing herself in her dreams while in reality not even having to worry about counting calories.34

One night there was a knock on her apartment door.  She looked through the peephole and saw a man in a gray suit standing outside.  He appeared to be some kind of salesman.  Helen really wasn’t in the mood to deal with some pushy salesman at the moment, but something compelled her to open the door anyway.35

“Hello are you Helen Maitland?”36

“Yes.”37

“Ms. Maitland, my name is Granger and I’m with the company who sold you the diet pills you’ve been using.  May I come in?”38

“Um sure, come in.”39

Helen escorted the man into her living room and he sat down on the love seat.  “I trust you have been happy with the results of our pills?”40

“They are fantastic.  For the first time in my life I have actually lost weight.”41

“Yes, we had not doubt you would.”42

“I have to confess though they seem to give you really crazy dreams about being able to eat all you want.”43

“I know, they are supposed to.”44

“They are?”45

“I won’t bore you with the technology, but essentially the pills stimulate you appetite through specially induced fantasies.  It is all part of the treatment.  Basically they summon from you memory images of what you have eaten in the past.  But since it is only your imagination and not reality you are left with the illusion of eating without actually doing so.”46

“Well all I can is that they sure work.”47

“So I assume you wish to become a regular customer then having enjoyed our free trial offer?”48

“Oh absolutely.”49

“Then you also are amiable to the customer terms of our arrangement?”50

“Um if you mean do I want to keep using your product the answer is yes.  By the way do you normally make personal visits to customer’s residences?”51

“Ms. Maitland we do offer a permanent solution to weight problems.  We take that job very serious.  So the personal touch is required.  I do thank you for your time, so I’ll be going now and we will be in touch.”52

“Ah thank you.  I’ll be looking forward to continuing to use your product as long as it keeps providing me such great results.”53

“Of that I can guarantee you,” Granger replies as he gets up and leaves.54

Helen doesn’t give Granger’s visit any more thought.  She is too consumed with getting back to the dining room.  Tonight she’s going to have her fill of hot fudge sundaes!55

A couple days pass and Helen once again finds herself in the dining room.  She has extra reason to celebrate.  Her boss actually gave her the kind of look that he normally reserves for the cute gals.  It did a lot for her ego.56

And on the meal agenda is cake, lots and lots of chocolate cake and ice cream.  She has even gotten to the point where she can think a given food into creation, which has made the whole process even better.57

Finishing her last piece of cake, she sits back feeling incredibly good.  Now it is time to leave.  So she closes her eyes and when she opens them again to her surprise she is still in the dining room.  She tries it again and still finds herself in the dining room.58

Suddenly the door opens and in steps Mr. Granger.  “I trust your last meal was satisfactory?”59

“Yes, it was good as usual.  But I am sort of anxious to leave.”60

“Leave?”61

“Yeah leave.”62

“Apparently you didn’t read all the details of our agreement.  We do offer you a permanent solution to your dieting problems.  Only for it to be permanent means you can’t leave this chamber ever again.  The pills were simply a way of inducing your mind to accept this environment.  It was to condition you to being transplanted to this location for real.  Since you did sign a power of attorney as part of your agreement, we will use your assets to fund this project.  In the meantime, I must go, so enjoy and celebrate the reality you will never have to worry about a weight problem again.”  Granger closes the door as he leaves.63

Helen tries to protest, but it does no good.  She can’t move or escape.  Before her a plate of brownies suddenly appears.  She sighs and then reaches for one.  At least she knows she won’t starve to death even if she might die from boredom.  However it will be without a weight problem!64