This morning, I went out into the yard—just to water the flowers and check if the cats had scattered litter, as usual. But as soon as I opened the gate, I immediately smelled a terrible odor. It made my chest tighten and my mouth taste metallic. I took a few steps and froze. Something was moving on the ground next to the flowerbed. In front of me lay something slimy, reddish, as if turned inside out. It reeked of rotting meat, as if someone had hidden a dead animal somewhere nearby. I even recoiled—my heart was pounding, and the most terrifying thoughts rushed through my head. “”What is this? A maggot? A strange creature? The remains of an alien?”” I couldn’t figure it out. I picked up my phone, took a photo, and, wincing at the smell, went searching for answers online. When I searched for “”red slimy, rotten smelling discharge,”” the search engine returned a very unpleasant and strange result. I was horrified when I realized what it was. Continued in the first comment.
The morning began with the kind of calm that makes small routines feel grounding, a subtle, steady rhythm that somehow sets the tone for the rest of the day. I stepped out into the garden with my watering can, the familiar clink of metal and the soft rustle of leaves accompanying me as I moved…
