text: We, as humans, have the propensity to create our own answers to questions nor science, nor common sense can offer a reasonable explanation for. Examples of this are best found in the older religions. We didn't know why the sun set and rose every day, so we attributed these happenings to a God. An almighty creature, of whom we were at its mercy every day. We have come a long way since then and most of humanity no longer subscribes to the notion of a sun, rain, harvest or moongod. We now look to religion for a moral compass, guidance and support through the rougher times in our lives. However; our modern science only takes us so far and with a big part of both the universe and the human mind left unexplored we sometimes still have to find our answers elsewhere. Cryptids, ghosts, ghouls and monsters. They aren't just for entertainment on a gloomy saturdaynight, they are, in rare cases, the only reasonable explanation. In others just a viable option. Did those campers get mauled to death by a bear, or was it a wendigo? Did that ship perish due to a storm or did it venture in to a grumpy krakens territory? One thing all of these creatures, all be it gods, cryptids or ghosts, have in common is that they are hunters. They survive off of humans in some fashion. Gods thrive off of our admiration, cryptids tend to be a lot less elegant and just eat us and ghosts are alledged to feed off of our energy and fear. With our world being as vast and unexplored as it is, it is very likely that there are creatures out there we aren't talking about. Creatures that walk and talk like we do, but still view us as prey. As a means to their survival. A way for them to thrive. This leads me to the point I am trying to make, the story I am trying to tell. What if we're wrong? What if we overscienced things and accidentally left the door wide open for the more intelligent creatures among us to feed of of us, our energy, our love. Because when you think about it; is there anything more intense, more consuming, more powerful than loving someone? What if there are creatures out there, walking around looking for people to love them, to feed off of, to absolutely drain and move on to their next victim? To leave their victims uncapable of love. To leave them longing and in doing so creating an infinite source of energy to tap in to, growing ever more powerful and desirable with every person they leave as a shell of themselves. Maybe some creatures out there don't need to do us physical harm to feed off of us. I know they're out there. I know, because I loved one of them. These "monsters", for a lack of a better term, seem to appear when you're at a point in life when you're "okay". You're not miserable, but you're not great either. Life is, as they say, "good enough". They appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and seemlessly find a way to become a steady part of your mind. Maybe they're the cute barista that keeps giving you that free muffin, maybe they're that one friend that never really feels platonic. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to never meet one. How do you protect yourself if you do? Well, it serves us well to remember that certain monsters only have the power we give them. Just as demons who feed off of fear don't have anything to feed off if we're not scared of them, these "cupids" have nothing to gain if we learn to never love someone more than we love ourselves. They can't win if we don't take all of our self esteem, happiness and general sense of being content from the, admittedly, tainted bank they offer us. Supplies always seem to be plenty, but beware, they never are. Said recourses will appear to be dwindling, and you will react by working harder, doing more in an attempt to get back to that initial level. That's where they thrive, feed, grow stronger. That's how they drain you, break you and once they do, you will never be the same. Love is the most powerful thing out there, but you're in control. Hopefully.