Abha Iyengar
Nothing Really
When she was cleaning the toilet, a little drop of water jumped up onto her face, from within the toilet bowl. It touched the side of her lip.
She spent the whole day, touching that side of her face, worrying about it, the side of her lip, some germ may have got in.
The area began to get red, she kept touching it on the train to work, rubbing it, though she had washed it with antiseptic before she left home. She returned from work, saw that it had become sore. She put an emollient, but could not stop worrying about it.
After two weeks, she had developed an itch behind her neck and on her scalp. She decided to go to the skin specialist. He said there was nothing wrong with her, but she needed to treat the boil on the side of the lip.
He gave her antibiotics. The boil did not subside. The itch grew.
Something bothering you? The skin doctor asked her when she visited him again. Worrying about your job, your son, something?
No. she said. There is nothing really on my mind. Nothing, really.
