The dime-sized hole in my bathroom ceiling has grown.

Eyes closed, I lather my hair.

At night, my neighbor’s unlatched gate bangs; roof joists creak. Childlike fear creeps in.

The water runs hot. Pipes wail.

I smile at the truth now.

Above me, pushed tight against the gap, something blinks.

Keely O’Shaughnessy is a fiction writer with Cerebral Palsy, which she sometimes writes about. She is Managing Editor at Flash Fiction Magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in both, anthologies and literary magazines, and her most recent publications include, Pretty Owl Poetry’s Spring 2020 issue and NFFD’s Flash Flood. Her story “When Naked Plants Renew” will be featured in this years Solstice Shorts Festival 2020, Tymes goe by Turnes.