I took a closer look from a distance and compared
what I was seeing with pictures online. I searched descriptions of dark, soft-bodied creatures that could appear in damp environments.
The more images I looked at, the more familiar the shape became.
And then I found it.
A leech.
My heart sank.
A leech.
A small, blood-feeding creature that I had always associated with ponds, streams, muddy water, and places far away from an ordinary bathroom.
Yet there it was.
On the floor.
Inside the room I had considered completely safe and familiar.
Suddenly, all of my earlier thoughts came
rushing back.
The damp floor.
The drain.
The pipes.
The water.
I started wondering where it had come from.
Was it carried in accidentally?
Could it have come through a drain or plumbing opening?
Had it been brought inside on someone’s clothing or footwear?
I couldn’t know for sure.
And somehow, not knowing made it worse.
After that experience, the bathroom no longer felt quite the same.
Every time I walked in, I found myself looking down at the floor.
I started checking the corners without even thinking about it.
I noticed damp areas that I had previously ignored.
The drain suddenly seemed much more interesting than it ever had before.
