The Checker of All Things

The Checker of All Things

  William is what you would call a compulsive checker. At least that’s what I call it anyway. Technically it isn’t a “thing” or disorder like OCD yet. However, mark my words it will be. See William is somewhere in his thirties and lives alone. More than likely always will be. Not many people can handle being around a compulsive checker such as William.

When the mind doesn’t comprehend certain things like people’s behavior or knows where it comes from then it automatically fears it and views it as a threat. Therefore, keeping our distance from it. Hench the people in William’s life or lack thereof. It is strange the things our minds tell us to do or not to do. Even more strange how we just except and obey it. It's complexity of it is so similar to the complexity of William. His condition and how his life is and has been. A little background on William and his checking habit is that it started from his childhood. Unsure of the exact age when it began, just that he was very young. It was like one day he woke up and decided to check everything he could put his hands on for various reasons.

William started to check things from the time he woke up till the time he laid his head back down. He would check first thing in the morning if his parents were downstairs. Then he would check to see if there might have been some unforeseen visitor while he slept that may still be there.

He would check for breakfast to be on the table, check if his clothes had been laid out for school. He would check everything, from making sure his bed is wrinkle free to checking his mom’s hands to see if they were clean before she made breakfast. It was making sure that everything was working correctly and in it's place. That there was no unexpected occurrences of things malfunctioning, breaking, or disappearing all together. He would do this every day, not missing one. It is hard staying on top of every little detail about every little thing. Being a control freak for a lack of a better word is hard very hard. It was very frustrating for everyone, especially William. I won't even go into his schooling experience. Let's just say kids can and will be very cruel when something doesn't look the same as they do or how they do it. William developed tough skin at an early age.

He once said it was like an uncontrollable urge to stay in control. Gives a whole new meaning to control freak no pun intended. He did it from childhood all the way up till present day adulthood. Went to countless doctors one after another after another. Referral here referral there. All having the same answer. They had not a clue to what was the cause of Williams’ incessant need to check everything around him.

He has never been in a wreck, never been beaten up, or even seen a horror movie. So, it wasn’t trauma related.

Tested his blood and all that internal stuff which proved nothing other than he was a health young man. No disease or disorder of any kind. Finally, the family had to give up on finding the reason for his “abnormal” behavior. They feared him because they didn’t understand him.

William didn’t even understand himself or why it was happening to him. He just said he can’t help it. So, William with his nonstop compulsive checking meant for a long, lonely life. Or so he thought or so everyone thought.

Till one day as William is walking through the grocery store touching everything to make sure it is what it should be or appears to be. Hoping no one is getting mad that he is putting his hands all over all the food in the store. He notices a young lady so pretty he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. So much so that he quietly followed her from isle to isle being careful not to alert her of his presence.

Then he started noticing yes, she was the prettiest little thing but that was the only reason he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. As he watched her go down one aisle and up another, he realized something. That she was touching everything she could put her hands on and in a slightly aggressive manner. Almost like it was an urge she couldn’t control. William began to smile like he had never smiled before. Because he knew what that felt like, that urge that won’t go away and dictates to your daily life. He had that same urge himself. He almost said it to so loud the shoppers two aisles could have heard him. However, he was loud enough to get the pretty young ladies’ attention and cause her to ask him just what in the hell was he staring at and had he not seen a girl shopping before or what.

William started to fumble with his words and instead of looking like a blubbering idiot who doesn’t know how to use his words. He takes the young lady by the hand and asks her to please walk with him and for the first time ever in her life, she had no clue why she listened without hesitation and followed this stranger through the store. It didn’t take her long to be glad she did because she saw he had it too. The awful urge.

Never did either one of them, loving compulsive checkers think they would find anyone that was like them until they found each other in the store that day touching every piece of food in sight.

Turns out that William wasn't going to live a lonely life like previously thought. Instead it would prove to be the opposite in fact. Good things really do happen when it is time for them to and only then.

 The End…