19 Pop Menemene To regard another’s suffering or misfortune with sorrow, compassion, or kindness. Rrrrrrriiiipppppop! It was the sound of Velcro tearing mixed with the suction cup sound of a newly opened jar of guava jam. Rrrripop-pop-pop-pop! Rrrripop-pop-pop-pop! Lying the in dark, the sound was driving me nuts. It was coming from the wall behind my bed and a little higher than my head. It’s nothing, go to sleep, I thought. It’s probably some evil three-headed sucker fish creeping up on me. Don’t be such a panty. They wouldn’t leave you here if something bad could get you. Or would they? It would solve a lot of problems. I flipped my pillow to the cool side. Rrrripop-pop-pop-pop! Rrrripop-pop-pop-pop! It didn’t help. Rrrripop. . . pop. . . pop. Pop. Silence. I waited.

