Free Depths by C.S. Burkhart Page B

it, squeezing and releasing, letting
it fill up with soapy water.
    The first dish I grabbed was a
bowl with little bits of cereal stuck to the rim. I didn't remember
eating cereal. Not this week at
least.
    Gross.
    I turned the faucet off and dipped the bowl under
the water. It was warm and felt good after being outside in the
cold. You have to enjoy the simple things like the feeling of warm
water on a cold night. I should take a shower after I'm done, that
would hit the spot. I scraped the cereal out of the bowl with the
sponge and finished washing it. I grabbed a towel off of the oven
handle behind me and dried the dish and placed it into the cabinet
by the pantry.
    And the next one is... Dinner plate, remnants of
what looked like left over Chinese food. Wonderful. Into the soapy
water it went. I had to work to get the dried up chow-mien unglued
from the plate.
    I cleaned and dried each plate, cup, spoon, fork,
knife and pan that was on the counter and reached into the sudsy
water, looking for the plate and red cup I had first set in the
sink. I could feel little bits of food and noodles at the bottom,
squishing under my fingers.
    I have a pretty strong stomach but
the thought of old food and feeling my fingers squish it made me gag a
little. I felt around a little more and found the plate. This one
was easy at least, there had only been crumbs on it. Must have been
a sandwich or toast or something but I didn't remember eating those
either. I dried it and placed it in its respective cabinet drawer
nearest the refrigerator. Just the cup and then I could shower. I
stuck my hand back into the soapy water with the little bits of
food debris floating around in it. Sickening.
    I touched the bottom of the sink again and felt
around until my fingers settled on something small and hard. It was
kind of jagged at one end.
    What the hell is that?
    I took my hand out of the water, soap running down
my arm to my elbow, and held the thing up in front of my face.
    A tooth.
    I dropped it into the sink and reeled backwards, my
stomach dropping.
    ...cheek bones extending outwards, my forehead
broadening, grabbed my head, trying futilely to push my features
back into place. Another tooth clinking onto the tile...
    The dream blared into my mind, the
memory of my forehead stretching and broadening... I could feel it.
    I hurried back to the sink and fumbled for the drain
plug but something brushed against my hand in the water.
    Just ignore it, get the plug and get out...
    It felt like hair.
    Just grab the fucking plug and GET OUT.
    There it was. I grabbed it and pulled. The suction
made my arm jerk backwards as the plug came out, splashing soap in
my eyes.
    “ Dammit! ” I said out loud, throwing the plug at the counter, trying to
wipe the soap out of my already burning eyes, before realizing that
wiping soapy water into my eyes with my hand
wouldn ’t help. I felt around, blindly for
the towel I had set on the counter.
    Crumbs, crumbs, water,
crumbs … Found it.
    The drain made a gargling sound as the last of the
water flowed down the pipes. I dried my hands on the towel, and
they shook as I wiped my eyes free from dish soap.
    I blinked. No … No, no no. Just because I felt it, doesn ’ t mean it ’ s real …
    I blinked again but it was still there; a matted a
clump of black hair slowly circling around the drain, stopping just
before the edge. Little soap bubbles glistened off the tangled
mess.
    It ’ s not
real, it ’ s not real...
    I clenched my eyes shut, repeating the line to
myself, hoping that when I opened them the hair would be gone.
    Reluctantly, I opened my eyes back up. No clumps of
hair to be found in the sink. I braced myself on the counter with
my arms and let my head fall into them.
    You're just tired. Take a shower and get some
rest.
    That thought sounded good. I needed sleep
desperately.

Chapter
15
    I am not easily understood. This I
know. I have a hard time understanding myself sometimes. Most of the time. My
thoughts