A single, rogue droplet of water slipped past his towel and lodged itself deep inside his left ear.
“It’s not a trick!” Leo insisted, hopping on one foot and slapping the side of his head like he was trying to wake up a lazy goldfish. “There’s a tiny sailor in there. I can hear him rowing.”
He stopped fighting. He stopped hopping. He just lay still, breathing slowly. water in ear after shower
He touched his dry ear. It was empty. Quiet.
Leo smiled. He knew the water hadn’t really been a sailor or an explorer. But from that day on, whenever a drop got stuck after a shower, he didn’t panic. He just lay down, listened to the tiny, temporary ocean, and waited for it to find its way home. A single, rogue droplet of water slipped past
Defeated, Leo flopped onto the living room rug, his clogged ear pressed against the cool floor. He closed his eyes and sighed. He imagined the drop of water wasn’t an enemy, but a tiny, lost explorer. It had stumbled into the warm, dark cave of his ear and was now bouncing around, trying to find its way home to the drain.
The world immediately changed. The soft hum of the bathroom fan became a distant, wobbly drone. His mom’s voice calling, “Leo, don’t forget to brush your teeth!” sounded like she was talking from the bottom of a swimming pool. I can hear him rowing
“Mom!” Leo yelled, tilting his head so far to the right he almost toppled over. “The ocean is in my ear!”