petty quirks

i have a stinger in my finger. i can just see it under the first layer of skin. it's been there since i was seven. some people have freckles and moles, i have a stinger. it's my distinguishing mark. there are others too, but this is the one i like to show people. the one that can get a conversation going if i can't think of anything to say. showing someone your stinger certainly breaks the silence. i have to go into how it got there. this story often gets told on meeting someone the very first time. i like to ramble to fill the silence.

i was sitting on the edge of vance's new pool and my hands were on the rail of the stairs. i'd forgotten my swim suit at home, so my feet were just dangling above the water. i felt the prick and there it was, the flying ant who lost its stinger in my finger.

last week, i was showing someone the stinger and it was gone. vanished from my finger. i had never wanted to stab myself with a pencil more than at that moment. lost lead never looked so attractive.
 
¶ 4:18 PM |