Short Stories

He mops his stomach with a sock, gets up from his bed and goes into the bathroom. His reflection antagonises him with shame. The expression shifts to delight. He’s impressed with his physique today.

In the shower he soaps his body and stomach, admiring his washboard abs. The veins on the lower abdomen impress him. He looks up at the full length mirror in the shower in front of him, confused. Confused that he’s woken up alone like this for the past 46 years, for the most part. Out of the corner of his eye he catches the sock staring at him through the shower glass from the floor of the bedroom.