A Blocked Nose [upd] | Unblock

He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, mouth-breathing like a dehydrated goldfish. Beside him, his girlfriend, Sam, slept peacefully, her gentle, unimpeded breathing a cruel mockery of his suffering.

At fourteen seconds, nothing. At eighteen seconds, a faint click deep inside his skull. At twenty seconds, he released his thumb and dropped his tongue. unblock a blocked nose

Nothing happened.

He walked back to the bedroom on silent, reverent feet. He slid under the covers, carefully, and turned his head to the side. For the first time all night, he closed his mouth. His breath traveled a clean, silent path. He lay on his back, staring at the

It was 3:00 AM, and Leo was pretty sure his nose had declared independence from the rest of his body. The right nostril had been a lost cause for hours. The left one was now staging a dramatic protest, offering only the faintest, most insulting whisper of air. At eighteen seconds, a faint click deep inside his skull

He shuffled to the bathroom, the old floorboards creaking their sympathy. He grabbed a towel, ran the shower as hot as it would go, and sat on the closed toilet lid, letting the bathroom turn into a steam-filled jungle. He leaned forward, draping the towel over his head and the sink, creating a tiny, humid tent. For ten minutes, he breathed in the warm, wet air. It felt like inhaling a gentle hug. A tiny trickle of moisture appeared in his left nostril. Progress.

But the moment he stood up, the concrete walls of congestion slammed back down.