Short Story Sunday: "Something That Needs Nothing" by Miranda July

In an ideal world, we would have been orphans.

Miranda July often writes stories about strange forms of obsessive love but she has not gone to this extreme before, not in No One Belongs Here More Than You anyway. "Something That Needs Nothing" takes love to the edge and over, way over.

The story concerns two girls, whom we follow into young adulthood. Pip and the narrator run away from home, though it may not be fair to call it that since no one is exactly chasing them. They end up in a flea bag room in Portland where they form a strange plan to make money; they advertise themselves as prostitutes in search of an elderly female client. Just when their money is about to run out, they finally get a client who pays them just enough to cover the rent.

Meanwhile, the narrator has become fascinated with the peep-shows in the seedier parts of town, but Pip will not let her work there. Pip is not someone you want to have as the object of your affection. She is unwilling to become physical with the narrator, most of the time, and eventually leaves her for another woman, one with enough money to support her. This being a Miranda July story, outright rejection is no detriment to love. The narrator takes a job at a peep-show and makes enough money to start making improvements on the apartment. Of course, she is only doing this for the day when Pip will return to her.

The two do eventually meet again, and that's all I'll say about that.

Ms. July's characters are extreme, without a doubt, more so in "Something That Needs Nothing" than they in of the other stories I've read so far. But, again, Ms. July treats them with a compassion and understanding that can't help but win over the reader. I hope I never fall in with people like Pip and the narrator of "Something That Needs Nothing" and I won't even say that I came to like them, but I did come to see their point of view, to understand them. That should be worth something.

Miranda July has a fascinating website and she is one of the people behind Learning To Love You More one of the more interesting websites I've ever found.