The Ocean at the End of the Lane

In his bathroom that evening, the narrator notices a small hole in the sole of his foot. It doesn’t hurt, but when he touches it, it seems as if something inside the hole backs away. Using tweezers, he catches the hidden thing—an “earthworm”—and pulls it out about an inch, but it holds on tight. The boy turns on the tub’s hot water, then holds the inch of worm under the scalding water until it begins to relax. He pulls it out, but it’s torn at the end: A bit of it remains inside his foot. He throws the worm down the tub drain, flushes it with a lot of water, and closes the drain with a stopper. The boy looks in the bathroom mirror and wonders who he is.

In the morning, the narrator’s foot seems to be healing. His mother announces that she has a new job as an optometrist, and a woman named Ursula Monkton will live with them and look after him and his sister. He goes outside, climbs a tree, reads, and then returns inside for some food. Ursula is there: She’s tall, pretty, and friendly, and the boy’s sister says she wants to be just like her.