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The Late Night Visitor

My leg began to itch.
I could feel each dust particle fall onto my skin,
and like a falling domino, my entire body began to burn.
My sleep heavy eyelids opened.
I could hear the rain outside, tapping my window, wanting to come in.
I was not alone.

I got up.
I blinked and I was in the shower, washing away the dust.
The burning subsided, but I wanted to stay longer, under the water.
I sat down, and opened the shower door.

I saw the finger first.
The knuckle, large and blue, caught my eye.
The ring seemed to rest so precariously on the edge.
I wanted to push it back up to the palm of the hand,
as I often do to my own ring, when it shifts with movement.
It was too heavy, the ring, it didn’t fit that knuckle.

There was no need for a towel when I stepped out the shower.
I was just going to go back to bed,
and with the heat, a little air on my back felt good.
My toe began to wiggle
on its own.

She wanted me to stay awake.