By: William Shaw.

People I met on dates always said they loved my button nose. They said it was cute; they said it was my best feature.

They were less enthusiastic when I reached up to my face and undid the button. They said I was disgusting, unholy, inhuman. That my face, my real face, was an abomination.

That was if they stuck around, or stayed conscious, long enough to share their opinion.

But that was how I knew you were the one, my love. When I unbuttoned my nose, you didn’t scream or run away.

You just reached up, and unbuttoned yours.

© 2026. William Shaw

William Shaw is a writer from Sheffield, currently living in the USA. His writing has appeared in Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction, and The Georgia Review. You can find his website at williamshawwriter.wordpress.com and his Bluesky at @williamshaw.bsky.social.