Chapter 1The Spice of Karma

My electric toothbrush had some unidentified substance stuck to it.

I asked around the house, but no one paid me any mind.

My younger brother rolled his eyes:

"Who would dare use your stuff? You dress like a streetwalker all day, it's disgusting!"

Furious, I secretly coated the bristles with concentrated capsaicin.

That night.

Screams echoed relentlessly from the bathroom.

* * *

Just as I was getting ready to brush my teeth.

I saw some unidentified substance stuck to the toothbrush head.

It was soft and mushy, with suspiciously dark edges.

It looked a bit like a rotten piece of chive.

Or something else I didn't even want to think about.

I leaned in and took a sniff.

A foul stench shot straight to my brain.

I couldn't help but clutch the sink and dry heave several times.

This was the third time this month.

The first two times, I didn't think much of it.

I thought I just hadn't rinsed it properly after brushing, and some leftover food had fermented.

But today was different.

I had just replaced this brush head yesterday after brushing.

There was absolutely no way anything could have gotten stuck to it.

Unless...

Someone had used my toothbrush.

And probably.

More than once.