The Sum of Her

She’s had bruises on her body that she knew nothing about. They’d just appear. A mark at the hip, a black and blue on her thigh, scratches on the collar bone. The recklessness of her body movements, full of forgotten pains. Each pain felt and then immediately thrown away. Cast out of mind for self preservation, or so she told herself. And yet it was destroying her body. The little hurts that became her.