andouillers

          The leak in the ceiling awoke me. It was still dark out, quiet but for the distant sounds of the city. I heard something scurry near the window. The water was drip-dripping steadily on my right cheek. I sat up slow, tossed the sheet aside. This was the fifth time I'd woken tonight. A car alarm. I rubbed each of my eyes with the palms of my hands. It burned to keep them open for long... I swear, I saw a shadow pass...?          The room was smaller than I recalled it had been only hours earlier, when I'd arrived, but just as empty. I resolved to sit still until wearily would I fall back onto the bare mattress. How much longer would