It was October 13th. I was standing in the middle of Times Square finishing the last of my earl grey tea when my phone rang. It was my agent calling about the photo shoot scheduled the following day. I fished my phone out of my pocket, and brought it up to my ear.
"Yeah?" I asked, trying not to sound excited.
"Hey Alex, it's Paul. Just calling to confirm the photo shoot tomorrow at the Marriott downtown at 3 o'clock?"
"Yeah, I'll be there." I said casually.
"Great! Can't wait to see the results. Call me when you get them!"
I hung up, ran a hand through my hair and headed down the street. The sun was getting lower in the sky and the Manhattan horizon was a fantastic orange. There was a chill in the air as I crossed over 5th avenue. I slid my hands into my pockets and quickened my pace. The cold air wasn't going to be good for my skin; I needed to get home and moisturize.
I enjoyed walking around the city. When I had moved there to pursue a career as a professional model, I was always scared I would get mugged or attacked on the street. I might look buff, but I couldn't fight to save my life. Being physically fit has its perks though, as I have never once had any problems, and I was often walking home late at night after a successful party.
The sun was getting lower in the sky as I continued on my way home. They say New York is a city that never sleeps, and I would certainly agree with them. Almost everywhere you go it will always be lit up by a streetlight, an electronic billboard or even those classic neon signs you see in store windows. The only places where the light never seemed to reach were the alleyways between the buildings, and I would always find myself peering down the dark urban corridors, wondering if anything was peering back.
I arrived at my apartment late in the evening after meandering around for a bit. It was time to start my nightly routine which can take a while. You see, I wasn't a model just because I had a good looking face and was physically fit, what set me apart from the rest was the fact that I had absolutely perfect teeth. I had never needed braces, was born without wisdom teeth, and never once had a cavity.
I always made it a point to brush my teeth at least three times a day, and follow with mouthwash. I made sure never to drink coffee or wine, and to always have a toothbrush and toothpaste on me wherever I went. I tried to show the same amount of care I had for my teeth in every aspect of my life, and as a result my apartment was always tidy and organized, and everything was always in its place.
My teeth were my life.
After a small dinner, I began the process of brushing, flossing, rinsing, and essentially taking care of every single one of my teeth. I had won Fashion Weekly's best smile 2 months in a row, and I was going for the third. Once I was finished, I smiled into the mirror. I knew the photo shoot was going to be great. Who could resist taking pictures of my face? Blue eyes, brown hair, and of course the most dashing smile you could have on a man. If I had to give myself a flaw, it would be that I am pretty short. At 5'10", I'm noticeably shorter than the other models in the business, so I'm not a perfect human being by any means.
I struck a few poses and practiced a few facial expressions before heading back to the living room to watch some TV. On the way, I paused. Down on the floor, in the middle of the hallway, was a piece of dental floss. I looked around, a little confused as to how it got there.
Must be a draft somewhere. I thought as I picked it up and tossed it into my trash bin.
The rest of the night was nothing to talk about, and after watching an episode of Oprah I headed to sleep. The morning after however, was when things started to get weird.
With a stretch and a yawn I slid out of bed, turning off my alarm on the way to the kitchen. I quickly brewed a cup of green tea, let it cool, and then took a sip.
I almost dropped my mug at the shock. It's difficult to describe the sensation, but something wasn't right. I hurried to my washroom, looked straight in the mirror and smiled. I almost screamed at what I saw.
One of my teeth was missing.
My right incisor was now gone, leaving an extremely visible gap in my top row of teeth. I didn't know how to react. My mind was going crazy with all the possible explanations.
Had it fallen out while I was asleep? Did someone break into my apartment and rip my tooth out?
I sprinted to my bedroom and started tearing up the sheets of my bed, trying to find my tooth. The longer I looked for it, the more I began to panic. I knew that if I showed up to a photo shoot missing one of my front teeth that I would be laughed out of the building. Not only that, but the winner of Fashion Weekly's best smile two months in a row suddenly losing a tooth would be quite the upset. For me and for everyone else, but especially me.
After an hour of tearing up every conceivable spot my tooth could possibly be hidden, I sat down on my couch and thought.
Okay, I'm obviously not going to the photo shoot like this, and no dentist in New York can do a tooth replacement on such short notice. I just gotta take control of this situation.
I called my agent and let him know that I wasn't going to be able to make it to the photo shoot, making up a story that I had suddenly come down with the flu. I then called my dentist and scheduled the earliest appointment I could. After setting down my phone I heard my stomach growl.
Oh yeah I haven't actually eaten anything yet.
I decided to eat some yogurt and a banana. Soft stuff just so I didn't knock another one of my teeth out. After finishing my meal I decided to do another round of searching and clean up in the process. I then proceeded to my routine of maintaining my teeth. I took a closer look at the spot where my tooth once was, trying to figure out how it could have fallen out. I sighed, meeting my own eyes in the mirror, trying not to let my emotions get to me. I put my toothbrush back in its place and decided to have a nice, hot shower.
As the hot water streamed down my back, I closed my eyes and started to wonder if somebody actually had stolen my tooth.
That's impossible, my apartment has some pretty good locks and I remember locking up last night. And even if I never lock the sliding glass door on the balcony, no one would scale the outside of a building all the way to the 27th floor just to steal a tooth.
I finished my shower and stepped out, drying myself off. I left my bathroom and started down the hall to my bedroom.
"What the fuck?" I said, looking down.
In the middle of the hallway was my toothbrush.
I stepped back, my heart pounding. I looked around and listened, wondering if someone was in my apartment.
"Is anybody there? Hello?" I yelled.
Nobody replied, and I started to think I was going crazy. I quickly picked up my toothbrush and once again put it back in its spot, before heading to my room and throwing on some clothes. I then went to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife I could find. With knife in hand, I proceeded to check every spot in my apartment for anyone that could be hiding. When my search turned up nothing, I double-checked the front lock and secured my sliding glass door.
I wanted to call the police, but what would I tell them? That I woke up with a missing tooth and my toothbrush moved when I wasn't looking? They would think I was crazy, and I would as well.
The rest of the day was luckily uneventful. I didn't want to leave my house for fear of someone recognizing me and seeing that I was missing a tooth, but I was also anxious to stay home. I kept my TV volume low, always listening for any footsteps that might indicate an intruder, but I didn't hear anything.
Part of me didn't want to go to sleep, as I didn't want to wake up with another tooth missing, but after staying up until one in the morning, I could barely keep my eyes open.
I decided to head to sleep, making sure to close the door to my bedroom behind me, in a small hope that I would hear it open if someone did break in.
As I drifted off, I held a quiet fear in my heart that perhaps there truly was something waiting in those dark alleyways of New York City peering back at me as I peered in. Those were my last thoughts as I fell asleep.
I awoke to the feeling of something touching my face. I tried to sit up, but I was restrained. Something was holding my arms and legs to the bed, but I couldn't see what it was in the dark. I didn't know what was going on, I glimpsed movement out of the corner of my eye, and my head snapped to look to the end of the bed.
There was someone or something, standing at the foot of my bed.
My eyes adjusted to the light, and I screamed at what I saw.
The creature was humanoid, its skin was wrinkled and pale. It wasn't wearing clothes, but instead was covering itself with what looked like thread that had been wrapped around itself a few hundred times. I then realized that it wasn't string, but dental floss.
As I was staring at it, screaming my head off, it was staring back at me with its dark, bloodshot eyes. Looking closer, I saw that the creature didn't have hair on its head, but in its place was teeth.
Human teeth.
I shuddered at the sight and once again tried to break free of what was restraining me, which occurred to me then was also dental floss.
The creature tilted its head at me and slowly began to move closer, floss dangling from its outstretched arms. It raised its hands as it got closer to my face, and I saw that on each of his fingers was a claw. Each claw was a different shape, but they were all shapes I recognized. They were in the shape of dental instruments.
I tried to move my head away, but the creature grabbed me and forced my mouth open with a strength I didn't understand. I felt an extreme pain and then felt something give. I screamed again, and saw that the creature had just ripped out one of my teeth.
I tried one last time, with all my might to fight back, break free, or do anything that would prevent this nightmare from continuing. The creature then ripped out another one of my teeth and I felt blood pooling into my mouth.
Then it all clicked in my head. The creature had been here all along, simply waiting for the right moment. To take what I treasured so much.
The realization, combined with the pain and horror caused me to pass out.
When I awoke, my mouth was closed. I was hoping that it had all just been a terrible dream, but the sight of the creature still leaning over me crushed my last sliver of hope.
The creature was still fiddling with my mouth, and I saw it pull away some dental floss. I didn't know what it was doing, but from the blood pooling into my mouth that I had to continuously swallow to prevent from choking, I came to realize that the creature had ripped out every last one of my teeth.
Tears were running down my face as I tried to sob, but couldn't open my mouth. I moaned in utter distress as I realized that the creature had sewed my mouth shut, using the only thread it had.
The creature then leaned back and looked at me like a dentist overlooking his work. It then smiled.
It was a smile I recognized.
A smile I knew like no other.
It was my smile.