Like tens of thousands of young women before me, I wrote to Judy Blume because something strange was happening to my body.
I had just returned from visiting the author in Key West when I noticed a line of small, bright-red bites running up my right leg. I was certain it was bedbugs—and terrified that I’d given them to Blume, whose couch I had been sitting on a few days earlier.
I figured that if the creatures had hitched a ride from my hotel room, as I suspected, the courteous—if mortifying— thing to do would be to warn Blume that some might have
stowed away in her upholstery, too. In Key West and in Brooklyn, beds were stripped, expensive
inspections performed: nothing. After a few days, I had no new bites. I was relieved, if further embarrassed. I apologized to Blume for the false alarm, and she responded with a “Whew!” I hoped we had put the matter behind us.
The next morning, another email appeared in my inbox:
Amy-When I am bitten by No-See-Ums (so small you can't even see them and you were eating on your balcony in the evening) I get a reaction, very itchy and the bites get very red and big. They often bite in a line.
It was "just a thought," she wrote. "xx J."
This story is from the April 2023 edition of The Atlantic.
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This story is from the April 2023 edition of The Atlantic.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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