by KUBOA
***
“Things?” Hector asks. “What things? Do you hear voices in your head? Are you crazy as well as ugly? That’s never a good combination, Milton.”
“It’s not voices,” Milton says calmly.
“Good. Best stick with ugly for the time being. Nobody locks you up for being ugly. Though I’m sure a few authorities might make an exception in your case.”
“If the doctor thing doesn’t work out, you should really join the Samaritans,” says Milton.
“I would but I’m not gay. Now, explain the noises.”
“I don’t know…it sounds like…being in the woods. Would you mind looking to see if I have anything wedged in there? I read that on average we consume five spiders a year in our sleep; maybe one found its way into my ear and is stuck.”
“You think there’s a spider in your ear… one that makes noises like the woods?”
“Okay, it’s probably not a spider, but it has to be something pretty strange if you can’t figure it out”
“Who said I couldn’t figure it out? It’s probably just glue ear, like I said originally.”
“Yeah, but what if it isn’t?”
“I’m the medical student here, not you. I’ll prove it!”
Hector reaches into his inside pocket and pulls out a small torch. Twisting the head to turn it on, he kneels down on the floor beside Milton and points the light into his ear.
“What do you see?” asks Milton.
“When was the last time you cleaned your ears?”
Milton is about to apologise for poor hygiene standards when Hector draws in a sharp intake of air.
“What? Is it bad? Is it a tumour? Can you get tumours in the ear?”
“My light… it’s gone.”
“Where?”
There was a long pause before Hector spoke. “I’m not too sure I believe it myself, but it’s gone inside your ear.”
***
By the age of ten Milton would go through seven pillows a week, and at least one bed sheet. He’d kneel before his bed at Aunt Bea’s, say a prayer to his dead mother and father, and fall asleep. In the morning, he would awake with a sore neck and no pillow. Aunt Bea would ask him, “Milton; where are all the pillows? And what have you done with all your pets?” But Milton never knew the answer.