I cracked open my eye, and it burned, but I could see. I looked at him and he was very serious. “If I start…” I tried again.
“Then you scream, and we listen.”
I shook my head. “I’ll cry.” I shuddered. “If I scream, I’ll cry.”
He shook his head. He nodded to the nurse, who covered my face with a sterile cloth. “No one will even know.”
His next slice was deeper, and the pain was back. This time, I didn’t hold back. I drew in a breath and screamed. I screamed the pain out; I screamed my anger out. I swore to the goddess, to my father, to my mother. I swore to my ancestors. I swore so much the nurse giggled.
The tears fell. I don’t know why these tears mattered…but they did. But there was no way I could hold them in. And it wasn’t the pain that was causing them. I don’t know if it was j
