Kat Fairhurst

The Cave

Lively walked into the cave, flicked her shoes off and flopped onto the couch. Calling into the darkness to signal her arrival home she told Skel she'd be a couple of minutes and she would start dinner. She heard him indistinctly grunt in return. He hadn't had a good day then. She was tired and listing in her head all that she wanted done, she told herself she was not going to be able to relax for another few hours at least. Looking into a mirror she saw her skin had become transparent again, the coloured patterns and etchings on her cheek and jaw bones visible. She picked up her pot of “function” and dabbed it on smoothing the colour over the opaque skin, hiding her skull underneath. She had a pot of “content” to conceal the hollows of her eyes better than only using “function”, but she was too tired to apply it just now. She felt her head for a worn patch, and felt it start above her right ear and extend round to the nape of her skull. Sighing, she picked up a fine spool of brown thread and a small needle. Threading it, she raised it to the edge of the bald area and pushed it through the skin. She knew she wouldn't be able to sew all the missing hair this evening but two or three strands would do for now. Start covering what stressing out and pushing herself too much had done to her.