Lottie was an old, lonely woman. Her husband had passed away three years ago, and she had no family. At 84, her only joy was gardening. She loved her garden, and she enjoyed seeing the joy on her neighbors’ faces when she brought them fresh produce. On this day, she was focusing on the carrots, her husband’s favorite vegetable. While pulling up the carrots, she noticed a worm in the nearby dirt. She wondered why it was just lying there, not moving, but shrugged it off and continued working. Once she got to the end of the carrots, she saw the worm had moved closer. It still wasn’t moving. It felt as if it was watching her. Lottie poked it with her finger, and it coiled around her finger as tightly as an earthworm could. The worms behavior confused her slightly. Deciding she was finished for the day, she pulled her finger away from the worm.
She grabbed her carrot-filled basket and headed inside. When she got in the house, she looked out the window. The worm was still there, and it had its head turned toward her. Lottie let out a gasp and backed away from the window. She felt silly, knowing that worms don’t follow people or stare at them through windows. However, this earthworm disturbed Lottie. She continued on with her day the best she could, staying away from the windows. Lottie refused to give the worm the satisfaction of watching her. Before bed, she took a quick peek out the window. It was still there. Watching her. Feeling uncomfortable about the situation, she locked her doors and windows and went to sleep.
As soon as she woke up, she went straight to her window to check if the worm was still there. She noticed it was raining, but did not see the worm anywhere. Lottie felt silly for being so paranoid about a simple worm. She smiled and went about her day. She cleaned her kitchen and prepared her lunch. As she was cutting carrots, she saw the mail truck drive by. Grabbing her umbrella, she stepped outside to grab the mail.
Walking down her driveway to the mailbox, she glanced down. That’s when she saw it. The worm. She knew it was the same one because it was upright, and she could feel it staring at her. This time, she knew she wasn’t being silly, this worm was stalking her. Lottie considered forgetting about the mail and just going back into her house, however, she was absolutely not about to let an earthworm control her life. She stood up straight and marched past the worm to the mailbox. On her way back to the house, the worm had moved to the center of the driveway, as if trying to block her path.
“What do you want from me?” She yelled at the worm, who just looked at her. Lottie didn’t expect the worm to respond, but wished she had answers. She stepped over the worm, watching as it seemed to stretch, trying to touch her foot. She walked faster and locked her door once inside.
She knew she needed to talk to someone about this. Since her husband died, Lottie often kept to herself, other than when she brought her neighbors vegetables from her garden. Her neighbor always seemed like a nice, open-minded young man. She decided to go speak with him. At worst, he thinks she’s just a crazy old woman.
Lottie opens her front door, unsurprised to see the worm still there on her walkway. Not wanting to walk close to the worm again, she cut through her yard to get to the neighbor’s house. Hopefully, he doesn’t mind her walking on his grass; some people are funny about that sort of thing. She arrives at his front door and rings the bell, trying to remember his name before he gets to the door. After about a minute, a young man peeks through the window. Seeing Lottie standing there, he opens the door.
“Hey Lottie, what brings you here? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, Bishop, right? Your name is Bishop?”
“Correct! Why don’t you come inside, and then we can talk.”
Lottie follows Bishop inside. She removed her shoes and then followed him into the dining room. Bishop motioned for her to sit and then disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returns, setting a cup of coffee in front of her. He takes a seat and waits for her to begin.
“So please listen to what I am about to tell you with an open mind. I swear this is all true. I’m not crazy.”
Lottie told him everything that had been happening with the worm. She knows it has been watching her, but she can’t figure out what it wants. It even tried to touch her foot. She explained that she is telling him all this because he seemed like a nice, open-minded young man. When she was done with her story, she noticed Bishop was looking out the window. She followed his gaze and noticed the worm making its way up the walkway leading to his house.
“That’s him,” Lottie whispered.
Saying nothing, Bishop gets up and disappears into another room. Lottie stands up and walks over to the window, watching the worm as it gets closer. Once it got to the bottom of the stairs, it stopped and just watched Lottie through the window. She heard a thud behind her and turned around. Bishop had returned and set what appeared to be a 10 gallon fish tank on the table.
“You stay here.” Bishop said, “I’m going to go get the worm.”
Lottie watched as Bishop went outside and scooped up some dirt for the bottom of the tank. He then walked over to the worm and gently placed it inside the tank. The worm didn’t seem to respond, just kept staring in her direction. He brought the tank inside and set it down on the table.
He inspects the worm and notices that it has its full attention on Lottie. He is rethinking his initial impression that it was just a case of a crazy old lady.
“Lottie, walk over there.” He points to the other side of the room.
He watches as the worm’s head follows the woman. Bishop turns the tank, and the worm turns as well, its gaze never leaving Lottie. She eventually walks over to the table and sticks her hand in the tank. The worm crawls over to her hand and rubs itself against her. Lottie thought it might make her uncomfortable, but she feels comfort. Something about this worm is familiar, but she can’t place it.
“I think I’m going to head home. I just need to know I’m not crazy. Is it okay if I take the worm with me?” She looks at Bishop while still allowing the worm to rub against her hand.
“Yes, of course. If you need anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask, okay?” Bishop gives her his phone number as well.
Lottie picks up the tank and heads home. She brings the tank inside and sets it on the kitchen table. Taking a seat, she stares at the worm.
“I should give you a name, would you like that?”
The worm nodded. Lottie was not at all surprised that the worm understood her. This was, she realized, no ordinary worm.
“Do you like the name George?”
The worm nodded again.
She sat back in her chair and examined the worm. As she stuck her hand inside the tank again, he darted over and rubbed his body on her hand. She didn’t understand what she was feeling. Lottie had not felt this way about anyone since her husband. This was a worm. She couldn’t be developing feelings for an earthworm. Could she? Lottie required distraction. Exiting the kitchen, she entered the living room and turned on the television. Unfortunately, nothing that was on could distract her from George.
Gardening might help, that’s what she normally does to clear her mind. She heads out and starts working on her tomatoes. Every weed she pulled, every handful of dirt, every worm she saw, caused her thoughts to drift back to George. She didn’t tell the worm she named him after her late husband. Lottie missed that man so much, so why did she decide to name the worm after him? Is it loneliness? Is it because the way he rubs his body against her hand reminds her of how George used to rub her hand with his thumb when they held hands? Is it because the sexy way he wriggles reminds her of the way George used to walk? Wait. Did she just admit to herself that she finds the worm sexy? She looks toward her house, wondering what George is doing.
The sky got dark. She couldn’t stay outside avoiding the worm any longer. Lottie took a deep breath and stood up, walking slowly toward the house. Entering the house, she saw the worm perk up. Without a word, she walks over to his tank. The way he was looking at her, it felt like he was checking her out. Dirt from her garden covered her. That had to be it, he wanted her dirt. That was when Lottie made a decision that would change her life forever. She lifted George from his tank.
She held him in her dirt-covered hand. George wriggled around in the dirt and then rubbed his face on her fingers seductively. She took her other hand and started stroking his long, fat, pink worm body. He seemed to enjoy it, so she rubbed faster and harder. After a few minutes of stroking, she stopped and held him up to her face, looking into where she assumed his eyes were. Bringing him closer, she kissed him. He wriggled and pressed himself against her lips, trying to force his way in. Lottie was feeling things she hadn’t felt in years, since her husband had passed. Setting him back in the tank, she lifts it up and carries it into her bedroom.
When she got into her bedroom, she set George down on her dresser. She brought the aquarium over to her bed and dumped out all the dirt. Lottie then lifted George up to her face and kissed him passionately before setting him onto the dirt-covered bed. Unbuttoning her shirt, she turns to George so he can watch. Once her shirt was off, she lowered her pants, pulling the elastic waistband over her wrinkly ass. Standing there in her bra and panties, she looked at George. He was leaning toward her. Knowing what he wanted, she crouched down so they were at eye level. He wriggled up to her large, wrinkled, saggy breasts. He squirmed into her bra and found her toe-shaped nipples with skin resembling that of a butthole. Lottie moaned as George rubbed against her nipples. When he slid over to the other side, Lottie couldn’t take it anymore. She removed her bra, allowing her breasts to flop against her stomach.
She lay back on the bed, allowing George to crawl around her body. When he got to her panties, she grabbed them and slid them off. George slithered over her clit while she moaned, rolling around on the bed, covering herself in dirt. Seeing her covered in dirt made the worm even more excited, and he flicked his tail over her clit over and over until he felt her shudder with pleasure. The moans are getting louder with each pass of the tail. Lottie has never felt this good, not even with her husband. That thought made her feel kind of bad, comparing her late husband to this sexy earthworm. There wasn’t a lot of time for bad feelings because George was making his way into her deodorized vagina. He crawled in as deep as he could, and started wriggling as hard and as fast as he could. From inside her vagina, he could hear Lottie screaming with pleasure.
Lottie rubbed her clit while George was inside her, rubbing against her vaginal walls with his thick worm body. She felt the worm exit her, and in that moment, she had the most intense orgasm she had ever had in her life. Lottie lay there panting while George crawled up the bed and rubbed against her face. She kissed him, and they both fell asleep.
The next morning, a series of loud knocks on the front door awoke them. Lottie picked up George, giving him a kiss before placing him back in his tank. She then put on a robe and went to see who was banging on her door. Looking out the window, she sees a woman who appears to be a few years younger than her. Lottie didn’t recognize the woman.
Lottie yelled through the door, “Who are you?”
“I am so glad I found you!” the woman yelled through the door, ignoring Lottie’s question completely.
“WHO ARE YOU?” Lottie yelled louder, annoyed that her question was not being acknowledged.
The woman glared at Lottie through the window, “Open the damn door.”
Lottie hesitated but opened the door for the woman. The woman barged into the house and held up something resembling a compass. She watched the object for a second before following it into Lottie’s bedroom. The woman stopped at the tank and smiled. She turned to Lottie, who was standing in the doorway.
“Maam, do you remember buying a pocket watch while on vacation a few years ago?”
Curious, Lottie nods at the woman.
“Well, I have some unfortunate news about that watch. The watch was, to be blunt, cursed. Now listen, I know this is going to be hard to believe, and you may wonder why I was selling a cursed pocket watch. Honestly, I needed money more than I cared about people’s safety. I figured you guys would have sold it or lost it by now. I wasn’t really concerned about the curse taking effect. It appears my assumptions were wrong, though. Did someone die while in possession of the watch?”
Lottie nods again and whispers, “My husband. May I ask what this watch does?”
“Anyone who is in possession of the pocket watch when they die will get reincarnated as any living thing that spends time with the body.”
“I don’t believe you. This doesn’t make any sense.”
The woman looks toward the worm, “You haven’t noticed how strange this worm is. Worms spend a lot of time with dead bodies.”
The realization hit Lottie like a ton of bricks. “My husband.”
“Do you still have the watch?”
Lottie walks over to her dresser and pulls the watch from the top drawer. She hands it to the woman. “Please leave my house.” The woman tries to grab the tank and Lottie stops her.
“No, leave George with me. It’s still my husband.”
The woman gives Lottie a look, understanding the way she is looking at her worm husband. She smiles and Lottie, “You two have fun.” She says as she puts the watch in her pocket and leaves the house.
After the woman leaves Lottie removes her robe. “She may think it’s a curse, but I feel like it’s a second chance.” Lottie lifts George out of the tank and carries him back to the bed. As she sets George on her pubic hair, she wonders how long earthworms live.