First, Do No Harm by P F McGrail

Author:P F McGrail [McGrail, P F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Delora Publishing
Published: 2020-04-19T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE:

TREES

TOC

I walked through the door I always sought, I always found. It closed gently behind me.

I watched again, helplessly, as the twelve-year-old version of myself endured the type of pain that adults fool themselves into thinking they can deny their children.

I watched my little brother burn.

I saw more of his body this time; the initial shock gave way to an unrelentingly critical doctor’s eye. His charred vertebrae and demolished spinal cord spilled disgustingly onto the ground like discarded butcher’s offal. I realized, vaguely, that Timmy must have landed on his neck, bursting his destroyed innards as his barbecued skin shredded from the impact of the collapsing house.

It broke more of me than I had thought possible. Deep fissures cleaved my mind in ways that I once would have believed impossible to endure.

But I left the broken pieces of me on the road and found that I could travel lighter once there was less of me to carry. It was, frankly, brutally efficient.

In that moment, I understood how the world could change a person into a quintessential shit-bitch.

And, in becoming stronger, I was able to make it through the journey yet again, this time confidently grasping the door on the other side, now more whole because there was less of my spirit.

Smoke hit me first, followed by the warm humidity of an old Missouri summer.

And of course, there was the scream.

I collapsed on the ground, unable to move any further.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.