See that second toe that isn’t quite straight? That’s where I rolled over in a dead shoe and broke the toe. See the lumpy bit on my right big toe? That’s a bunion that never quite heals.
And see how my toes are all slightly crooked now, and how my metatarsals are extremely prominent? That’s arthritis. It’s what dooms us all. I started feeling the telltale pain when I was twenty-six but managed three more years on stage.
Her head hurts. And there’s this weird choking feeling in the back of her throat as if she stuffed grief whole into her mouth but can’t swallow it down where it won’t hurt anymore. And the storm clouds are overhead, and thickening. If only it would rain. She goes through the motions… She meets friends […]
“It’s bedtime.” “Five more minutes?” “You have school tomorrow.” “I’ll get up on time, I promise.” “It’s very late.” “But I’m almost done with this chapter.” “Is it for school?” Well, no.” “Five more minutes…” “Five more minutes from the time you close the door?” “You’re pushing…” “Well, you used my first five minutes asking […]
Off Balance by Melissa Bartell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.