Lamprey Face

Lamprey Face dealt me a seven of clubs. I balked. There's no arguing with Lamprey Face: one time, after working out, he tried to get me to towel him off. I refused. I'll never forget what happened next. Lamprey Face had one mean, sharp egg tooth.

On Sundays, Lamprey Face would take his "teacup" piñata Joseph out for walks in the neighborhood.

If the walk took place at night, Lamprey Face would turn his face up to the moon, pictured below, and the "teacup" piñata would follow suit.

               ~ ~~~~~^---:-::::::::::::-:^---~~~ ~                            
   ,       ~ ~~`^~~~^-::::======((((==:=:::::^-^~~~ ~                          
     .    ~ ~~~^^--:::==(ccuuxdAggsgnsxcuv((_=i:^<~~~~ ~    i~ `               
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      '~ ~'^~-:::;vcuq#igQ#D0e3v3AAxa4AGKuo=#ac;(i::_^~~^ ~  ~                 
   ~ ~~~~~~-~:::=cxavgG9eCcuv2xxvcu73A4AAaAAn;Zau(=::--~~~ ~ ~                 
  ~_   ~ ~~-:::(cq(s8uoN%Hv3ex?MNQH<aA400xv#M3CZ;uv(::--^~~ ~      ~           
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  ~  ~~~^-::(c0QuA&A3i0nQq#H95nozvoozxu2<Cc=xollxuuZ4v(-=^^~~~ ~               
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   ~ -~~~--:=(q#4=::<`v"95{pnOo2uuuxaanxAxxxxxaec##Axv=:--^~ ~                 
   ~~^~~~-:::(cx4o<gis#({;goAS(vQuQAQAA0xxxx0Axc(#Qxc=:--:~~  ~    ~           
 ~    ~ ~^~-{:(cnQ3xCovc':7qQ(uuzQQEQAA0eauxxxoy#Auv(":--~ ~ _    ~            
      ~ ~~^-_={(7u0H34naw;gooouxAAn4QAQ0xxxxxx(Qnuv=::--^~~ ~"~~ ~~            
 ~   ~ ~ ~~^--::<=vxHHvucucov3uxxxAGQ44aaAAe(Wnxv(::--_~~   ~                  
       ~` ~ ^-^-::=vzun0Hvvoovouxxan4GA3V@HO3yc(::_:--~~  _~  ~ ~              
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     ~  ~   ~ ~~~~{,:::="<((evvcceuuCucc((=:::_--^~~ ~ ~       ~               
    ~            ~ ~~~--:::<:<::<::::::::-:--^^~~~           {                 
   ~          . ~ ~ ~~~~~~---^^---:---^~^^~^~~ ~       '^ ~ ~  ~~ ~            

Joseph did not think much of this moon, but Joseph seemed always to take it ill when he encountered anything that did not shine with its own light -- for a finely textured, green radium glow seeped out of Joseph's curlicues and rustly paper stumpy legs, and he was justly proud of it, was Joseph.

Lamprey Face had not always been lamprey-faced. Far from it. But one day he discovered a secret room in his house (formerly his parents' house) where his mother and father had stacked all the presents Lamprey Face (then known as Kip) had ever received for Christmas. Lamprey Face entered this room only once, the day he found it, and quickly snatched the piñata that would become Joseph from underneath a dull, pilling blue sofa. Then he exited the room before the door swung shut forever on the sunshine, Joseph beginning to glow, softly, underneath his arm. The first lesions appeared on Kip's face that same night.

There was a wild flowering of Neo-Synephrine, and Kip was no more.

Go here for the next installment.