streeeetch

somehow as i ballooned up i escaped the branding of stretch marks on my belly. yet somehow after i deflated they appeared bright red and unforgiving. three marks seared into my skin like a scratch from an irritated house cat. a reminder of a different time, a time when emotions ran wild, when anger, tears, laughter rolled together in one simple moment. i'll consider it a battle wound, a scar to be proud of, a fixture that will remind me of the one thing i never knew i wanted and the one thing i could never live without.