Scars into Stars: Prediction Theory by Cheryl Snell

The scars were purple, skin puffed around the incision. It was the bargain she had struck, two breasts for the price of one. The scars reminded her of the string Father had used to pull her loose front teeth. Somehow it had tripped her and she’d skinned her knee. He hugged her with one arm as he applied the stinging iodine. Now she had two wounds, and would find money for only one under her pillow. To make up for it, she painted an iodine star around the cut on her knee. Unbroken skin does not sting. I should decorate my mastectomy scars with stars, she says to the mirror─ tattoo them over, send them to another galaxy where the stars aren’t already so dead.

Cheryl Snell’s books include several poetry collections and novels. Her most recent writing has appeared in Anti Heroin Chic, 100 Word Story, Blue Unicorn and other journals. This year her work has been nominated for inclusion in Best Microfiction, Best Small Fictions, and BOTN anthologies. A classical pianist, she lives in Maryland with her husband, a mathematical engineer.

Painting by Janet Snell – janetsnell.weebly.com