Daniel had barely unpacked from his weekend camping trip when he noticed something strange in the bathroom mirror.
A dark speck appeared inside his left nostril. He leaned toward the light, expecting to find a bit of dust or a small leaf from the trail. Then the shape shifted.
Daniel stepped back.
He washed his hands, returned to the mirror, and held up his phone to use its flashlight. The narrow beam revealed only the inside of his nostril. The dark shape was gone.
He tried to convince himself it had been a trick of the light. Still, the sensation lingered—the uneasy feeling that something was there, just beyond where he could see.
At the campsite, he had spent an afternoon swimming in a clear freshwater river. He remembered the cold current slipping around his shoulders and the group laughing as they climbed out onto the rocks. Nothing had seemed unusual afterward..