byA pale cast of orange light shined on Grandma’s liver-spotted shoulder, five deep black holes adorning her milky flesh. She stared into her vanity, powdering blush onto her cheeks. The tips of her toes bounced from the tail of her nightgown as someone hummed Sinatra.
I jumped at the sound of knuckles rapping the front door. Grandma jerked her head toward my room. Her frazzled hair masked her features. The shadows concealed me enough to avoid her glance. She didn’t know I’d called him. Told him about the holes. About what I saw inside them whilst she slept. What was underneath her skin, wriggling and twisting. Breathing.
Grandma stood from her chair, clumsily dropping her makeup brushes as she cursed under her breath.
“I’m coming. Hold on a second.”
She disappeared from view as her ge
