The expression, Don't tempt fate comes to mind as I finish this story. The pride, the arrogance, of the narrator are almost his undoing. The only shred of hope we had for this character was that he was telling the story, so he must have survived (we hoped). Barely, it turns out. It seems there is no safety in his environment. This is probably a lesson that will save his life in the future.

Thank you for posting this rather rattling story in the in the Ink Well community.