CW
Boddy horror
Weighing the decision to shower or not, Jenna stared at herself in the mirror.
Her hair shone with oil buildup and clumped at the scalp. Her face was the same ol’ tired face she was used to seeing, but her skin was mostly clear. The puffy purple bags under her eyelids brought out the dark brown in her eyes.
Committing to the shower, Jenna lifted her stained white t-shirt over her head and when she could see herself in the mirror again, she immediately noticed two pinky-sized appendages jutting out from her ribs.
Panicked, she slapped at them, thinking they were fat white slugs. When her hand made contact, she couldn’t feel them, but she could sense the tug at her skin from them flapping.
“What the fuck, what the fuck!” She continued to swat at herself rapidly, but they only flopped around her fingers. Calming at the realization they weren’t bugs, she glanced down slowly, afraid to find out what it was that clung to her so tightly.
They were two tiny penises.
“What the fuck?” she repeated. Gently, she brushed against them. They were cold to the touch and tickled her. Grabbing one, Jenna tugged and her flesh stretched with it.
Continuing to pull, she plucked one of the penises off her side. All that remained was a smooth white stem that was flush with her skin. She could see where the penis grew from, but the length of it was gone. Grabbing the second micro penis, Jenna pinched it at the base twisting and snapping it off.
Again, she checked the mirror. Now all that remained were two tiny white circles, only a quarter of an inch apart. Twisting herself under the fluorescence, Jenna watched as the light bounced off them, like they were damp.
Pausing, Jenna thought about going to a clinic she could never afford. Instead, she pulled open her mirror, which swung open to reveal her nearly-bare medicine cabinet. On the first shelf, there was a pair of tweezers and a tiny aspirin bottle with two pills in it that weren’t aspirin. On the second shelf was her lighter.
With the tweezers, Jenna pinched the first stem, treating it like an unwanted pimple. She squeezed around the rim, stretching her skin outwards, then inwards, again, and again. She used the tweezers to try and grab at the sides. At first only specks of the stem came away. When a sizable flake came loose, she held it up, studying it like sunburned skin.
Jenna brought it to her nose and took a quick whiff. No scent. Determined, she clenched her jaw and dug in. Pulling out the stem of the penis was satisfying. When she got the entire thing out, she set it on the counter, wanting to examine it later. Maybe taste it? Poke inside? No.
Turning her ribs toward the light, Jenna saw no blood pouring from the now vacant slot in her body. Curiosity continued to gnaw at her and she started in on the second stem. She knew she didn’t need to worry about pain; nothing about this hurt her. This penis stem came out more complete. She set it next to the other and stared at the two gaping holes in her body.
Caving to the thoughts tumbling around in her mind, Jenna set down the tweezers and stuck her fingers into the holes. Again, no pain. Her fingertips brushed against her ribs and the sensation was close to touching the side of your numb face after a visit to the dentist.
Wedging both fingers inside a singular hole, she spread it apart, content. Sweat had started to bead on her brow, but not out of stress.
As she yanked, her skin tore like wet tissue paper. Glancing into the mirror as if it held only the truth, Jenna saw the flaps of her skin dangling like a peeled sticker revealing the cavity within.
Ripping it off, piece by piece, Jenna squinted into the mirror and then down at herself. Was she seeing scaffolding?
Lifting up flesh under her arm, she confirmed she was indeed seeing scaffolding. A minuscule creature ran across a plank.
“Whoa.” Jenna’s eyes widened at what she was seeing. “What are you?” she whispered.
Speaking some secret passcode, multiple tiny creatures with batlike ears popped their heads out from around her ribs, pancreas, intestines, and stomach.
“Your blood,” a petite voice called out.
Jenna did not take a shower that day.
Jay D. Falcetti (she/her) is a biracial Indigenous writer based in Washington, where she lives with her family. Her short stories have appeared in various print and online magazines. She writes fantasy, horror, science fiction, and literary fiction. Connect and discover her other published work on Instagram @jdfalcetti. Jay D. Falcetti is a pen name.
Jay’s short “The Shadow Line” was featured in Special Issue ’25 After Dark.
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