A woman with a belt tightly clasped around her waist over the unif and with two distinctly protruding squatty hemispheres tossing about as if she had eyes on them, chuckled at me:

“He has a bellyache! Show him to the room second door to the right!”

Everybody laughed, and because of that laughter something rose in my throat; I felt I should either scream or⁠ ⁠… or.⁠ ⁠…

Suddenly from behind someone touched my elbow. I turned around. Transparent wing-ears! But they were not pink as usual; they were purplish red; his Adam’s apple was tossing about as though ready to tear the covering.⁠ ⁠…

Quickly boring into me: “What are you here for?”

I seized him.