Allergies
When they lay together,
her hair falls
all over his face.
He won't tell her but
he scratches his nose
and moves her hair around
fighting a silent battle.
She sleeps soundly
on his bare chest.
Now that he doesn't have her to lay with,
he prefers to take his nose off
and leave it on the bedside table,
along with his glasses and a box of tissues.
It's easier to think
he can't feel the hairs on his nose
due to the lack of the nose itself than the
lack of the girl.
Mariane Rech's short story "Prick" won first prize in the SVA 2024 Undergraduate Writing Contest. Mariane is a Brazilian filmmaker who is passionate about creative writing. She is currently graduating The School of Visual Arts with a BFA in film.