"What's this?"
My brother holds his hand out upside down, fingers pointing upwards, middle finger extended a tiny bit.
"A dead one of these."
My brother flips his hand over, four fingers pointing downwards like legs and the middle one extended out front like a head on a long neck.

This is not the first time we have gone through this bit of amusement. It's just a little amusement to pass time with giggles.

"What's this?"
My brother keeps his hand in the same position.
"A live one of these"
My brother flips his hand over, back into the original position.

It's a familiar sequence of events by now. I follow along with the amusement, even though I know how it ends.

"What's this?"
Fingertips put together, one hand above the other, fingers flattening until hands touch, fingers extending until each hand is peaked, repeating again.
"One of these doing push ups on a mirror."
His hand shows the live version of just one.

The next line in the sequence, that's the one. Here it comes.

"What's this?"
He puts the little hand creature on my head, all fingertips touching my scalp, moving in and out slightly like a tiny massage.
"STARVING!"

Cue indignation, flapping at him to get his hand away from my head. Thus, the amusement sequence of the brain sucking hand creature ends.

 

Sometimes, the hand creature gets tired of waiting for the amusement sequence. Sometimes it demands to skitter around the table, stopping occasionally and wagging its head back and forth to get a look at its surroundings. It will climb on your plate and sniff at your food. It will climb in your glass and drink your water. It will most certainly occasionally jump on my brother's head, and still find itself starving. The brain sucking hand creature never finds any brains to eat.