Julio's friend.

His physical flaw was an odd one. When
we talk about flaws, we usually talk about
them in the negative, as something that
a person lacks. "He has no chin," or "He
is balding," for example.

But Julio's friend possessed a chin and
hair, as well as all of his limbs and a
decent-seeming wardrobe.

His flaw was peculiar. It was not the
absence of a feature that marred his
looks. No. It was this: a pair of
unusually long eyelashes that curled
outrageously upward.

In a girl, those eyelashes would have
been flirtatious. An attribute, even. In
a man, they were repulsive. One was
reminded of a serial killer or a
pedophile, or of Peter Lorre's marked
character in M, who is both.



Index