[iii]

Lie back, the doctor said. I felt his cold hands pressing my stomach. Sorry, he said.
When he pressed near my belt, it happened. A memory hidden in the muscle flooded
me and I felt everything I was trying not to feel. A house, a room, a forgotten corner.
All collapsing and inside me.

The doctor stopped. He knew. He read my body too. He turned quiet. He looked me in
the eye. Would you like a glass of water? he asked. I said, Anything