He appeared scrupulously unsuperstitious, but the smell exposed him, acrid, brain-curling. I startled him in the bathroom.
Grandpa dropped the burning envelope into the toilet. “Sssh. Tell nobody. The witch will know.”
After he died, I continued the family tradition, as my grandchild will. Burn all clippings, hair to toenails.
photo by chuttersnap at unsplash