Excerpt: Milk of Burgandy

Maybe five or six seconds pass before the dread sets in each morning. Those are the first instants after awakening, just as the eyes flutter open and the fragrance of the neighbor’s breakfast wafts through the open window. The sensation is almost pleasant until bully dread comes crashing through the brain, clashing with anything resembling serenity.

Marjean engaged in one of those body stretches that ends up in a cramp. Someone taught her that if she pulled back on her large toe the cramp would go away. This morning, she felt too tired to even bother so she waited for it to dissipate on its own and felt a soreness in her legs as she ambled up the stairs. Her body always hurt in one way or the other. Somotaform disorders. She knew what they were, but that didn't prevent them from occurring.

"I need to eat a banana... Potassium deficiency..."

Carrying secrets around inside were what caused the illnesses. The pent up emotions associated with fear and despair, hatred and anger. They manifested themselves in any number of forms...the nagging cough, leg cramps, headaches, because if she dared to direct them toward their unwitting recipients, she would be even more alienated.