It was like a veil slipped from my vision. What was a hazy vision came into focus. I could see each pore on his slanted nose. Every crack in his forehead. And there were these splotches on his cheeks, just above his scratchy beard, that seemed to flare the longer I looked.

“Emily?” The lips beneath the beard called. I looked from his mouth to his eyes. Had they always been so red-rimmed?

Some ...