SHARED HALLUCINATION

   Artwork by Felicien Rops        A small herd of rock-and-roll guys in leather jackets with either longish or spiky hair were splayed  across the black couches in the otherwise blood red living room, all of who were engrossed in some sports  game on the giant screen television. I knew I should have recognized some of them, but I'd been out of the  loop for so long I had no idea who they were. I hardly recognized our host he'd changed so much from the  last time I'd seen him and was covered in tattoos, along with heavy, silver jewelry, but the long, messy,  dark brown hair which hung to his waist, and the dark, mischievous eyes were still the same. He'd aged  well considering his rather notorious life-style,      CJ got up when he saw Stephanie, giving her a hug. “Well, well, well... so glad you made it,” he said.  He appraised me from head to toe. ”Now, who's your friend?”      Stephanie mad...

          Standing in the immaculate white bathroom the next morning, I carefully pried my sweater from the  wounds on my arms. I'd been so out of it, I'd fallen asleep in my clothes. Getting the wool unstuck was no  easy task and I bled like a stuck pig. Stuffing wads of toilet paper on the sores, I prayed I wouldn't bleed  all over the alabaster walls and carpet.      The shower shocked some sense into me, and the hot water stung like the seven fires of hell. I almost  welcomed the pain, as it was the first real shower I'd seen in weeks. While scrubbing the mats out of my  hair, I glanced down at the forest growing on my legs, and decided such a momentous undertaking could  wait – they'd have to stay hairy until another day.      After drying off, I went in search of a robe. Hidden deep within the closet of the guest room was a pale  pink satin one. Pretty, but not exactly me, but it would h...