Skin Deep
by A. Lee Manton
The body stopped moving.
She watched with despondent eyes, flexing her numbing fingers and breathing slow and shallow.
The grating feeling, like sandpaper inside, faded as it smoothed away the scars. She was pacified; complete again…comforted by this haunting cycle.
It always got to this point. The memories – the nightmares bubbled up until she was full of anger and fear. There was a lot of fear. Then, she became giddy, knowing she could fix it. She could never just forget. Her mind wasn’t a hard-drive you could just erase; she wasn’t a computer you could reboot, problem-free. But this did put a part of her into sleep mode. This was her Norton Anti-Virus; she let it run once a month and clear everything out.
She rubbed her fingers together, completely smooth. It was the gloves; she remembered… the gloves to protect her hands, her fingerprints, her DNA. She was always afraid, especially of getting caught. The fear spoke now, as it did when she lingered too long. It was always right behind her, leaning over her shoulder, its warm breath giving her a chill as it laughed in her ear.
She looked down at the body. The salt acid had burned away most distinguishing features like cheeks and lips. It left a variety of textures, melted, smooth and uneven flesh, pebbly boils, splatter-pock marks…it was never the same twice. Nor was it a pretty sight, but she couldn’t date someone as good-looking as herself.
“Good-bye, Lucas,” she said, kissing the tips of her gloved fingers and touching them to his marred forehead.
They were all Lucas, even if they weren’t as wonderful as the first.
