Eventually, curiosity beat fear. I grabbed my phone, zoomed in, and started comparing photos online. The more images I checked, the more the panic slowly faded into embarrassment. The shape, the joints, the curve—it all matched. It wasn’t a parasite at all, but almost certainly a detached leg from a big beetle, probably carried in on clothes or a towel. The relief was overwhelming, but that eerie, crawling memory? I’m not forgetting that anytime soon.
I was taking a shower when I suddenly noticed this on my shoulder.
