Alexandra Christo

I ache for the ice of the sea, so sharp with cold that it feels like glorious knives in the slits between my bones.

I lie down on the ocean bed and nudge the jellyfish beside me. Its tentacles graze my stomach and I feel a wonderful burst of pain. The kind that numbs and calms and clears my mind. It’s a release like no other, and when the pain subsides, I do it again.

“Lies aren’t answers.”

“But they sound so much better than the truth.”