"Always peel toward the nose. You're going to fold everything over the nose and then, with the final snip, we have a complete pelt ready for the next step."
I watched the taxidermist carefully. If I missed a single instruction, I could tear the tissue or ruin the skin of whatever poor, dead creature I was working on. Sweat dribbled onto my nose, so intense was the demonstration. All the same, I was grateful that the library was hosting this series of DIY classes: I now knew how to remove my own appendix, skin a mouse, and summon a four-tailed demon.
Feeling only the slightest bit squeamish, I glanced away from the exposed viscera and instead scanned the handout for information about next week's lecture.
"Oh good," I whispered, leaning over to the pale woman seated beside me. "The next class will be about releasing spirits to the afterlife."
She nodded and, without looking fully in my direction, pointed a quivering finger at my shoulder.
"Perfect timing," she said.
I looked down at where she was pointing. The tiny, wispy ghost of a mouse was perched on my shoulder, gaping in horror at the demonstration.
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