I tried replacing her nose with a button, a shiny pearl button from my grandmother’s sewing kit. Use it for something special, she told me before she died. So, I did. Sadly, it was not as cute as everyone always says. The button was a poor substitute for the flesh and cartilage elegance she once held there. And the screams ruined whatever charm it added to her face.

Chris Carrel writes speculative fiction and other odd things from somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. He has been published at Literally Stories, JAKE, and others, has work forthcoming at Does It Have Pockets?, Dark Winter Lit and Skeleton Flowers, and posts occasionally at ccarrel.bsky.social.