Galatea in Reverse

The memories faded, but the emotions never quite did.

I woke to the first timid rays of sunlight slipping into the room.

My body lay motionless on the bed. It was always hard to believe that this twisted, broken thing was still me.

My room had become my prison. My own flesh, its jailer.

How long had it been since I last stepped outside? Since I breathed in the scent of wildflowers or felt the wind against my face?

My oldest companion, Pain, always arrived in the morning. She stayed with me through every hour of the day, following every movement I made. She was the one who had turned me into a living statue.

I kept hoping that one day this dreadful companion would leave me. It was unbearable to realize that we were becoming inseparable.

I tried to move.

Pain lunged at my legs like a starving beast. It felt as though molten metal were being poured slowly into my bones.

I had stopped screaming long ago.

No one wants to spend an entire day listening to a sick person's cries. You learn to clench your jaw, hold your breath, and wait for the worst to pass.

I remember the day my legs first began to hurt with perfect clarity. I couldn't take a single step.

No one imagined that one day I would stop walking altogether.

There had been a choice: fight my way through the Pain, or wait for her to pass.

I chose to wait.

Needless to say, it was the wrong choice.

Let me tell you a secret.

When damaged joints are left unused, they begin to deteriorate even faster. Eventually, they freeze where they are.

Take my hands.

I never exercised them because every movement hurt. Now they are forever locked in the shape of grotesque claws.

The days blurred together, and somehow I didn't notice when my knees stopped bending.

I barely noticed when my feet became rigid, too.

Was I heartbroken?

Did I fall into despair?

No.

Because every time the disease finished consuming another joint, the pain disappeared with it.

What a relief that was.

My hands don't hurt anymore.

My feet don't hurt anymore.

My knees don't hurt anymore.

Hello, Pain.

What will you take from me today?

This happened to me a long time ago. I learned to walk again, but some experiences never truly leave us. This story is simply my way of giving those emotions a voice.