Blood washes out with a little hydrogen peroxide.

A tiny pinprick of wet warmth.

   Our house had a leaky roof. It wasn't bad, I just needed a bucket or two when it rained and an extra blanket to  keep out the cold. It never dripped at all if it was just a  My mom would complain to my dad about it sometimes, saying that it would give us hypothermia eventually. He would shrug it off, saying professionals charged us for the shingle. We would all laugh, then they would kiss me goodnight and I would go to sleep.

   Whenever it did rain, I could fall asleep especially easy. The thunder hardly ever bothered me. Only lightning particularly close would wake me. In any other case of rain, the constant drumming and occasional plink in the buckets would draw me into an easy sleep. However, easy sleep had a catch. Easy sleep meant light sleep. Light sleep meant I was woken up by the odd drop to the forehead. The forehead, or shoulder, or wherever drops were warm. I... never really paid attention to that.

   Last month, it was raining. Not a big surprise, considering it was rainy season towards the end. I had slept lightly, easily, content. Maybe a slightly restless sleep. Dreams a little unsettling, but that happens. I was startled awake, a warm drop plunking in the tip of my nose. I had shot up in bed, eyes darting around frantically in the shadowy expanse of my room. I saw a tiny white glint in the tiny hole in my roof. It had looked a tiny bit bigger than the previous night. I put it off as light and a leaky roof.

   Last week, it had rained during the day. It had rained hard, signifying the last moisture of the season was fleeing. During the storm, something hit my roof, and a chunk of it, about the size of a basketball, had fallen in. My father didn't have enough money or time to replace that part of the roof. A plastic bowl was put over the hole. It stayed up, but was hardly useful, save for being a sunroof. When I fell asleep that night, it was a deeper sleep. No dreams. I woke up from a warm drop on my shoulder and a little pain on my scalp. I looked at the little plastic dome. It had shifted to the side, about six inches away from its original position. Something that looked like hair drifted over the gap, then retreated. I fell back asleep unsure what I was seeing, but unsettled anyway. I wasn't sure if it was a residual drop of rain or not.

   Yesterday, It didn't rain. I came home from school, slinging my bag onto the floor and sitting heavily on my mattress. My mother and father were on a trip away for the weekend. I sat there, sighing and relaxing at the prospect of the coming Saturday. A tiny, wet, warm pinprick dropped onto my head. I shuddered and looked up. It hadn't rained. The warm drops were not rain. The warm drops were from that. The face sticking out of the bare hole in my roof. It was smiling, mouth open, drool gathering on its lips. Grey eyes, cold and glassy. It had thin wires of brown hair coming out of its head. It didn't move. I didn't move. I kept staring at it. I didn't sleep last night.

   Today, I can't sleep. The face is still there smiling at me. I just want to sleep. As much as I clack away at a keyboard, I can't get it out of my head. Smiling, mouth open, drool slowly gathering on its lips. I just want to sleep. For the first time in a month, I want it to go away for me to get a nights rest of sleep. Is that too much to ask? I just wanytasdXZ