Dream State
Judith was alone in the waiting room when the dental hygienist came in and told her that she would be next. Judith smiled at him. He said that he could see problem areas in her mouth from where he stood. She stopped smiling and turned to a mirror that was positioned near the window. Judith curled back her lips and widened her mouth into an exaggerated smile to see for herself.
At the top of her gum line just above her eyetooth, she could see something wiggling in a hole slightly smaller than a dime that, oddly, she had never noticed before. She could feel it writhing. It peeked its pointed head out, and she could see the striped, shining body living in the small tunnel in her mouth. The head was cream colored, followed by a ring of orangey red, then brown. Knowing the miniatu
