“The best way,” Leo whispered, voice still nasal but free, “is chemical warfare.”
Below it, a new query: how to remove horseradish smell from towels.
For ten seconds, nothing. Then, like a dragon waking from a thousand-year sleep, his sinuses erupted . A volcanic cascade of mucus, pressure, and regret poured out of his face. He sneezed—not a polite achoo , but a violent, full-body exorcism. Then another. And another. His nose ran like a broken faucet. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He couldn’t breathe through his mouth either, because he was laughing and gagging at the same time.
It was 3:17 AM, and Leo was certain his nose had been filled with wet cement. He lay flat on his back, mouth-breathing like a landed fish, staring at the ceiling fan’s blurry rotations. The clog was absolute—both nostrils, a brick wall. His head throbbed with the dull pressure of a sinus infection that had overstayed its welcome.
Air.