Touch Starved

The alley was long and dark. Amelie’s heart was beating fast and it took a tremendous amount of effort to put one foot in front of the other. Did she really want to do this? This wasn’t right. She shouldn’t be here. But her friend had told her it would be the best thing she’d ever experienced.

Human touch. Amelie couldn’t imagine anything more perverted and forbidden. Why would you touch another human being and risk being exposed to germs? That would break so many of the health laws that had been put in place over the last few decades.

Epidemics had become so horrible and deadly when antibiotic resistance in bacteria had taken over. No antibiotic had worked anymore and people had died like flies. Humanity had been close to extinction but the last survivors had been able to rebuild society. The new laws prevented most diseases from spreading.

And why would you want to touch somebody anyway? Reproduction could be achieved by fertilizing an egg cell in a vial and then raising it in an artificial womb. Sex itself was far more pleasurable with a robot specifically programmed for it than with a human. Doctors had a vast array of machines that could assess a patient’s health and were only needed to make final decisions.

Nobody she knew had ever been touched by another human. Well, nobody besides her friend Kira. And that friend had sent her into this dark alley to meet another woman who provided human touch for a fee.

”Hello?” Amelie called out quietly, too afraid to raise her voice. ”Is anybody here?”

”Yes, my dear”, a sulky voice responded. ”You are Amelie, aren’t you? Your friend told me you would come. I usually don’t immediately meet with new customers but Kira said you are not from the government.”

While she had been talking, a tall woman had emerged from a corner of the alley. She had to be around forty years of age and her face showed a soft smile.

”Did you bring me my money?” She asked Amelie, who nodded and handed her a bundle of banknotes. The women took them, quickly counted the money and then put it in a pocket inside her jacket.

”Very well. I assume you’re completely new to this?”

”Yes” Amelie answered with a voice several octaves higher than she intended.

”Then I don’t want to overwhelm you. The oxytocin your body will release because of the touch will already be strong enough even when it is just a short hug.”

”The what?”

”Come to me”, the woman requested and opened her arms wide.

Carefully, Amelie stepped towards her. Her thoughts were racing. What was she doing? This was not only highly illegal but also highly disgusting! She was about to be hugged by someone. This could not be right! This…

The woman wrapped her arms around Amelie and pulled her to her chest. Amelie was a bit shorter than the woman and her face ended up pressed against the woman’s shoulder. For a moment, Amelie tensed up and felt the need to push away, but then the woman started stroking her hair and she relaxed.

This felt better than Kira had described. Amelie closed her eyes and let herself be swept away by the experience.

When the woman finally let her go, Amelie was shaking a bit.

”I have never experienced anything like this”, Amelie said. The woman smiled again.

”Not many have. The fear of punishment and sickness is too big. But people have forgotten that human touch is important for our health. We need it to bond with people, to form trust and to be generally healthy and happy. Our society has become cold and depressed because we deprive ourselves of the most basic need besides food and drink.”

”How long have you been doing this?” Amelie asked.

”Oh I don’t know exactly, but I think I started when I was 14 or 15 years old. My parents provided this kind of service too, you know. I grew up with cuddling and affection everywhere. But then, the police caught both of my parents in the same week and took them away. They were put in prison for violating health regulations. I’ve never seen them again. Shortly after that incident, I followed into their footsteps.”

Amelie shook her head.

”That is horrible.”

”Yes, it is. But the state of our whole society is horrible right now. When people don’t touch each other at all, it is much easier to feel hatred and resentment.”

”Can I come back next week?” Amelie wanted to know.

”Of course. I’ll be here until they will take me away too.”

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Sources:

What does Oxytocin do?
Oxytocin production + Facts
Violence and Touch Deprivation in Adolescents
[Touch in Early Development](https://books.google.de/books?hl=de&lr=&id=qMvsAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=%22touch+deprivation%22&ots=pTC8LoTDH2&sig=2AVIZfu10zd_QHamCxf6YztJ9Ss#v=onepage&q=%22touch%20deprivation%22&f=false]

Touch starvation is an actual problem in our society, especially between single adults. So help yourself, hug a friend (but ask them for permission first).

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