The Only-Slightly Sad Story of Llyr

Here is a story about a man named Llyr. Llyr is twenty-seven years old, and lives alone in the city. He's quite noteworthy because of his group of friends.

The size of the group is very large, but that's not why his friends are unusual. After all, many people have large groups of friends.

What's unusual about these friends is how varied they are. He has kind friends, and nasty friends, and generous friends, and greedy friends. He has funny friends, and serious friends, and strange friends, and wise friends. Some of his friends are lazy, and others are hard-working. Some are meek, and others are dripping with confidence.

In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with as varied a group of friends as Llyr. You might have guessed by now that Llyr isn't like most people. Indeed, there's something very unusual about him - one might even say something special.

Let's see if you can guess what it is. I'll give you some clues.

Last week, Llyr met his friend Caytlin for lunch. Caytlin is a waitress, and always takes her break when Llyr comes to the restaurant at which she works, so that she can share her lunch with him. Caytlin is an eco-warrior; she often campaigns to preserve the environment, and to adopt forms of renewable energy. When they meet, Llyr is always as excited as Caytlin is about the environment, and helps her to brainstorm ideas to get her message across.

Have you guessed it yet? I'm very impressed if you have, with such little information to go on. Otherwise, here's another clue.

Llyr is a police officer. Until recently, his partner was Zoe. Zoe's intelligent, and values intelligence in turn. She's friendly and excitable, and always willing to put a lot of effort into her work. She liked Llyr, because he always worked hard on the job, and everything he ever said to her was friendly, intelligent or both. He always seemed excited to see her, and did all he could to help her with her own work.

Now have you guessed? If not, here's one final clue.

Llyr has spent a lot of time with a mysterious man who calls himself One Thousand And One. This mysterious man wears a mask - indeed, he wears a full costume - and keeps his identity a closely guarded secret. Few people know what One Thousand And One is actually like, because he rarely talks about himsef. Llyr, however, knows exactly what One Thousand And One is like. One Thousand And One is a determined man - incredibly determined - but also very giving. He likes to help others, but he also expects them to help him in return. He remembers every favour he's ever done, and will often ask those he's helped to return the favour somehow.

Now do you know what Llyr's gift is? Well done if you've finally guessed it! Don't worry if you haven't, though - I'll explain.

You see, Llyr has the unusual ability to emulate the personalities of those around him. Sit him down next to the greediest man in the world, and Llyr would become equally greedy. Likewise, present him with one who is kind-hearted and thinks only of others, and Llyr would become equally generous.

This is why he gets on well with people like Caytlin and Zoe; they value people like themselves, and when he's with them, Llyr becomes exactly like them. This is also how Llyr knows what One Thousand And One is like - when they're together, Llyr is just the same.

Llyr lives alone, because he feels that he must keep hold of who he is. When others are around, he's no longer the true Llyr, but a different man entirely. Indeed, the change is so substantial that Llyr has enjoyed the food in every restaurant he's ever been to, because he's always surrounded by other people who like the food. He also finds it difficult to enjoy watching television or reading a book unless he's in the company of someone who likes that particular programme or book - but when such people are around, he finds that he enjoys all sorts of entertainment, from horror, to drama, to documentaries, to light entertainment, and plenty of others besides.

Few people know of Llyr's strange characteristic, and even fewer understand it. His employers are aware of this, of course - it's important that they provide him with a very capable partner, to ensure that Llyr himself becomes capable in return. They also strive to minimise his contact with criminals, as he would otherwise take on their properties - not the best news for a police officer.

They must also keep Llyr away from Barry, the chief constable. Barry is a hypocritical man. By this, I mean that he is, for instance, very impatient, but hates impatience in others. He's also arrogant, but is very annoyed by other arrogant people. Furthermore, despite being foul-mouthed, he punishes bad language sorely when others are responsible. Llyr's employers know that it's far better for Barry to see very little of Llyr, as otherwise, Llyr would take on the chief constable's own flaws, causing a great deal of tension for all concerned.

But one question remains. What of Llyr himself? What is he like, away from the shadows of others?

The truth is that the real Llyr is childlike. He's unknowledgable, he's uncertain, and he's terribly, terribly afraid. The world outside scares him, because in the outside world, he has no control. Yet he knows that outside, the fear also leaves him. So, every day, Llyr leaves his home to counteract the terror that grips him in every waking moment he spends alone. When he returns, he remembers a lot of things, but he can't retain the knowledge of so many people - and as such, he can make no sense of the knowledge he retains.

For years, Llyr has only returned home to sleep.