The more images I looked at the more familiar the shape became.
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.
I wondered whether it had been carried in accidentally.
I wondered whether it had come through a drain or plumbing opening.
I wondered whether it had been brought inside on someone’s clothing or footwear.
I could not know for sure.
The absence of a definite answer made the situation feel heavier.
