Sister Snake

by Amanda Lee Koe

Having someone bear witness to your pain is risky: it takes the experience out of your hands, makes things real in a way you cannot unmake. Alone, you’re free to rearrange the pieces till they sit right in your head. If no one else saw the way you cried, you can tell yourself it didn’t matter that much, did it?

It is glorious to be by her side. To be without language, without distraction, with someone you love. Language has given them ways of hiding from each other.

“There’s so much more to life than being safe.”

To toe the line, she swallowed the hook.