It started in wisps. Here and there. A little bubbly, snaky movement at the corner of the eye. Didn’t think much of it.

I was in eleventh grade chemistry, and I started seeing it more and more. As I learned about atoms. Swirling elegantly in the air, glowing off the carpet at night. Vibrating around my hand, much smaller than the tiniest mites.

“Atoms want full outer shells.” I imagined atoms around my nose and mouth, entering and exiting. I also imagined the atoms of my nose, joined together in a different way than the atoms of the air.

(Continue this story using your imagination about seeing atoms.)