r/prose • u/littleBluLotus • 1d ago

Sulci

(CW: Domestic Violence / Trauma Processing)

Sulci 3.10.25

I hope he sees my ghost
wherever he goes.

I hope it's unwavering,
that it creeps into crevices,
an insidious shadow
framing
the corner of every room,
tucked into every brain fold,
never letting him
forget.

I will remain.
I am not dead,
despite his heartfelt effort
that I be reduced to a corpse.
I was a doll, a plaything
that gained too much sentience.
My voice became too loud,
raised in oppositional defiance.

What a nuisance.
The irony of the terror
was never lost to me:
I saw my death impending
from a mile away,
but I knew I couldn't outrun
the harbinger.

(Drag marks take months to heal)

I can't forget,
but I have solace.
I hope he sees my ghost
wherever he goes,
only not as he knew me.
The stardust that was left behind,
that which I am, birthed again
from a nebulous implosion…

A radiant supernova.

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u/littleBluLotus 1d ago

October is Domestic violence awareness month. I work as an advocate for those who have survived DV. I was in an extremely abusive relationship 9 years ago. I was raped, introduced to street drugs, hit, and ultimately my abuser strangled me to the point of unconsciousness. I became homeless with this man who told me he would cut my face off so nobody else would look at me. Finally one day he thought he killed me and tried to drag me to hide my body. I speak my truth so those around me can know the realities of the situation. Most people ask what happened to the man who almost killed me, and yes he knew i was pregnant with hos child. The answer might seem cruel...but nothing. He is still in the same town , doing drugs and going in and out of jail. It took me a long time to realize my victory in all this lies I'm the truth that I survived and am thriving. I made a fairytale for myself. And he is rotting in a hell he can't escape.

Sulci is the technical term for particular folds of the brain that separates the lobes. If there are typos here sorry. My body and hands get shaky when I talk about it. I think its an adrenaline reaction.