H A N D S Y

I had this dream that really shook me.

My family were all huddled in a home hiding from the bombs outside.

No one dared breathe.

There was a knock at the door and the harsh, halting call of the military police: “Send them out. “

Tiffany and I were forced outside the door.

Yes, Tiffany was in the dream randomly.

The rest of my family waited tensely.

The police officer started questioning us.

“What are you doing?Whyareyouinside?Whoareallthesepeople?”

Everything he said sounded garbled like he was speaking underwater.

Far away. Far, far away.

Tiffany and I kept stone-y faced and answered with as few words as possible.

I honestly can’t remember anything other than watching Tiffany across from me, the officer between us questioning.

I was staring at it.

What it was made my jaw almost drop to the floor.

I wanted to scream. I could only scream with my eyes.

Staring up from the floor was something I had never seen in my life.

A severed head of a woman, eyes wide, staring back at us. Two arms sprouted from her head, splayed out on the floor like a spider.

A tongue flickered in and out of her face slowly.

Her wide eyes rolled up to Tiffany, and it crawled toward her. Using her hands as a springboard, she trampolined off the floor and landed on Tiffany’s head.

Tiffany didn’t bat an eye. The officer continued speaking at Tiffany, and she was answering…as far as I knew.

The handsy woman ruffled Tiffany’s hair, pulled, jawed her skull, pretend clipped her hair.

And I could do nothing. Could say nothing. The grilling from the officer continued. Tiffany stood as if nothing was happening.

Then, handsy noticed, stopped, noticed me.

She slithered down Tiffany and crawled toward me.

I was wearing a nightgown and as she passed beneath it, I could feel her pause, eyes rolling over my bare legs, staring at the between.

I felt cold hands grasp my ankles, fingers clawing their way up my legs.

Then, the hands morphed into poniards, grappling into my shoulder blades.

Warm, sliming breath on my neck. And then, sharp bite, suctioning to my shoulder in the part where you can’t reach the itch.

I didn’t move. If I did, I knew the military man would do far worse to me, Tiffany and the rest. Tiffany knew that, too.

This was the test.

How far would we let handsy woman sink her teeth in?

Then, I woke up.

I saw an anime a few days later with a demon character who looked the same as handsy.