You keep your hand in the jar.

It is warm. It is sticky. You do not look. You know what is there. The flesh. The red, wet thing that was once yours. You keep it in the glass. You keep it safe.

The room is small. The walls are damp. The air smells of rot and lavender.

Who is that?

I am Maud.

No. You are Maud.

Listen.

The jar is on the table. The table is wood. The wood is old. The wood is cracked.

You are not Maud.

Who are you?

I am the thing in the jar.

No. You are the one holding the jar.

Stop.

The door opens.

It is Thomas.

He brings tea.

He brings bread.

He does not look at the jar.

He looks at your eyes.

Your eyes are wide.

Your eyes are wet.

Drink, he says.

I will not.

You will.

He forces the cup into your hand.

The cup is hot.

The tea is bitter.

You drink.

It burns your throat.

It burns your tongue.

It burns your stomach.

You cough.

Thomas watches.

Thomas waits.

The cough stops.

You breathe.

You breathe loud.

You breathe hard.

The air in the room is thick.

The air in the room is heavy.

The air in the room is alive.

What is that? he asks.

What?

The sound.

The sound in the walls.

It is the wind.

It is not the wind.

It is the house.

The house is sick.

The house is dying.

Thomas laughs.

He laughs soft.

He laughs low.

He thinks you are crazy.

You are not crazy.

You are the ghost.

You are the echo.

You are the stain.

Drink more, he says.

No.

Yes.

He takes the cup.

He pours more.

You push him away.

Your hand moves.

Your hand is fast.

Your hand is strong.

You hit him.

You hit him on the nose.

Blood runs.

Blood runs down his chin.

Blood drops on the floor.

Thomas falls.

Thomas sits.

Thomas holds his face.

He screams.

He screams loud.

He screams high.

He screams for help.

No one comes.

No one is there.

The house is empty.

The house is full.

Full of ghosts.

Full of secrets.

Full of rot.

You stand.

You stand tall.

You stand straight.

You look at the jar.

The jar is shaking.

The jar is crying.

The flesh inside is moving.

It is reaching for you.

It is calling to you.

Come back, it says.

No.

Come back, it says.

No.

You pick up the jar.

The jar is heavy.

The jar is warm.

You walk to the window.

The window is open.

The night is dark.

The night is cold.

The stars are out.

The stars are far.

The stars are dead.

You throw the jar.

The jar flies.

The jar spins.

The jar breaks.

The glass shatters.

The flesh falls.

The flesh hits the ground.

The flesh hits the dirt.

The flesh hits the grass.

It is gone.

It is gone.

It is gone.

You stand there.

You stand still.

You stand alone.

Thomas stands up.

Thomas wipes his nose.

Thomas looks at you.

Thomas looks at the ground.

Thomas looks at you again.

You are not Maud.

Who are you?

I am free.

You lie.

You lie to him.

You lie to yourself.

You are not free.

You are empty.

You are hollow.

You are a shell.

The shell is cold.

The shell is hard.

The shell is broken.

Thomas reaches for you.

His hand is open.

His hand is kind.

His hand is gentle.

He touches your face.

He touches your cheek.

His finger is warm.

His finger is soft.

You flinch.

You flinch away.

You flinch hard.

You bite him.

You bite his finger.

You bite deep.

You bite through skin.

You bite through flesh.

Blood spurts.

Blood sprays.

Blood stains his shirt.

Thomas screams.

Thomas pulls back.

Thomas stares.

His eyes are wide.

His eyes are wild.

His eyes are afraid.

You are a monster.

You are a beast.

You are a demon.

You are the thing in the jar.

You are the thing that ate Maud.

You are the thing that killed her.

You are the thing that lives in her skin.

You are the thing that wears her face.

You are the thing that breathes her air.

You are the thing that takes her place.

You are the lie.

You are the theft.

You are the murder.

Thomas runs.

Thomas runs to the door.

Thomas runs out.

Thomas runs into the night.

Thomas runs into the dark.

Thomas runs into the cold.

Thomas runs into the rain.

Thomas does not look back.

Thomas does not stop.

Thomas does not speak.

Thomas disappears.

You are alone.

You are alone.

You are alone.

The room is quiet.

The room is dark.

The room is cold.

The room is empty.

The room is full.

Full of the smell of blood.

Full of the sound of silence.

Full of the memory of pain.

You walk to the mirror.

The mirror is on the wall.

The mirror is cracked.

The mirror is old.

You look into the mirror.

You see your face.

Your face is pale.

Your face is thin.

Your face is wrong.

Your eyes are black.

Your eyes are deep.

Your eyes are empty.

Your mouth is open.

Your mouth is wet.

Your mouth is hungry.

You touch your mouth.

You touch your teeth.

Your teeth are sharp.

Your teeth are white.

Your teeth are long.

You are not human.

You are not Maud.

You are the shadow.

You are the stain.

You are the rot.

You are the end.

You are the beginning.

You are the middle.

You are the everything.

You are the nothing.

You close your eyes.

You close them tight.

You close them hard.

You wait.

You wait for the light.

You wait for the sound.

You wait for the touch.

You wait for the end.

It does not come.

It does not come.

It does not come.

The night lasts.

The night goes on.

The night stays.

The morning comes.

The sun rises.

The sun shines.

The sun burns.

The light enters the room.

The light hits the floor.

The light hits the wall.

The light hits you.

You are in the light.

You are in the sun.

You are in the day.

The day is bright.

The day is loud.

The day is alive.

The day is real.

You are not.

You are a ghost.

You are a dream.

You are a mistake.

You are a lie.

You are a joke.

You are a story.

You are a tale.

You are a myth.

You are a legend.

You are a warning.

You are a caution.

You are a fear.

You are a nightmare.

You are a waking.

You are the truth.

You are the lie.

You are both.

You are neither.

You are the space between.

You are the gap.

You are the hole.

You are the void.

You are the black.

You are the deep.

You are the dark.

You are the end.

You are the start.

You are the now.

You are the here.

You are the what.

You are the who.

You are the why.

You are the how.

You are the when.

You are the where.

You are the all.

You are the none.

You are the one.

You are the many.

You are the self.

You are the other.

You are the same.

You are the different.

You are the true.

You are the false.

You are the good.

You are the bad.

You are the evil.

You are the saint.

You are the sinner.

You are the victim.

You are the killer.

You are the lover.

You are the hater.

You are the friend.

You are the foe.

You are the brother.

You are the sister.

You are the mother.

You are the father.

You are the child.

You are the parent.

You are the son.

You are the daughter.

You are the man.

You are the woman.

You are the boy.

You are the girl.

You are the human.

You are the animal.

You are the plant.

You are the stone.

You are the water.

You are the fire.

You are the air.

You are the earth.

You are the sky.

You are the sea.

You are the land.

You are the world.

You are the universe.

You are the god.

You are the devil.

You are the angel.

You are the demon.

You are the spirit.

You are the soul.

You are the body.

You are the mind.

You are the heart.

You are the brain.

You are the blood.

You are the bone.

You are the flesh.

You are the skin.

You are the hair.

You are the eye.

You are the ear.

You are the nose.

You are the mouth.

You are the hand.

You are the foot.

You are the arm.

You are the leg.

You are the head.

You are the neck.

You are the back.

You are the chest.

You are the belly.

You are the hip.

You are the thigh.

You are the knee.

You are the shin.

You are the ankle.

You are the toe.

You are the finger.

You are the thumb.

You are the palm.

You are the wrist.

You are the elbow.

You are the shoulder.

You are the rib.

You are the spine.

You are the skull.

You are the jaw.

You are the cheek.

You are the chin.

You are the forehead.

You are the temple.

You are the brow.

You are the lash.

You are the pupil.

You are the iris.

You are the retina.

You are the optic nerve.

You are the brain stem.

You are the cerebellum.

You are the cortex.

You are the lobe.

You are the cell.

You are the atom.

You are the molecule.

You are the electron.

You are the proton.

You are the neutron.

You are the quark.

You are the string.

You are the point.

You are the line.

You are the plane.

You are the space.

You are the time.

You are the moment.

You are the eternity.

You are the instant.

You are the forever.

You are the never.

You are the always.

You are the sometimes.

You are the often.

You are the rarely.

You are the hardly.

You are the almost.

You are the nearly.

You are the quite.

You are the very.

You are the so.

You are the thus.

You are the hence.

You are the therefore.

You are the because.

You are the since.

You are the when.

You are the while.

You are the during.

You are the after.

You are the before.

You are the between.

You are the among.

You are the within.

You are the without.

You are the inside.

You are the outside.

You are the above.

You are the below.

You are the above.

You are the below.

You are the left.

You are the right.

You are the front.

You are the back.

You are the top.

You are the bottom.

You are the high.

You are the low.

You are the up.

You are the down.

You are the in.

You are the out.

You are the on.

You are the off.

You are the over.

You are the under.

You are the through.

You are the across.

You are the along.

You are the around.

You are the about.

You are the at.

You are the by.

You are the for.

You are the from.

You are the of.

You are the to.

You are the with.

You are the without.

You are the and.

You are the or.

You are the but.

You are the so.

You are the yet.

You are the nor.

You are the neither.

You are the either.

You are the both.

You are the all.

You are the some.

You are the any.

You are the no.

You are the not.

You are the yes.

You are the maybe.

You are the perhaps.

You are the possibly.

You are the probably.

You are the certainly.

You are the definitely.

You are the absolutely.

You are the positively.

You are the truly.

You are the really.

You are the actually.

You are the indeed.

You are the surely.

You are the clearly.

You are the obviously.

You are the evidently.

You are the manifestly.

You are the palpably.

You are the tangibly.

You are the sensibly.

You are the reasonably.

You are the logically.

You are the rationally.

You are the intelligibly.

You are the articulately.

You are the eloquently.

You are the fluently.

You are the smoothly.

You are the easily.

You are the simply.

You are the plainly.

You are the clearly.

You are the sharply.

You are the keenly.

You are the acutely.

You are the keenly.

You are the keenly.

You are the keenly.