Lila
Hunger gnawed at me like a living thing. At first, I thought I was dying; some new symptoms accelerating in my stomach. But after a full day I realized I truly was hungry for the first time in what felt like weeks.
I told myself I could endure it; that I’d learned discipline under my father’s roof, that a few skipped meals were nothing compared to what I’d already survived.
But after cutting rations smaller and smaller, the ache hollowed me out until it was all I could feel. The more I tried to ignore the hunger, the louder it screamed, echoing inside me until even silence seemed to vibrate with it.
I paced the room in tight circles, my body too restless to lie still even though I had very little energy left. I moved through the next pass around the table and felt the plop of
