"It's opening you to your world and you feel a tremendous tenderness for everything."

Eyes and lips seem brighter. This cadaver's name is Frank. The past two labs we've done things to his head that aren't fit to repeat here, but suffice it to say we're on the inside. I ran my fingers over his smooth teeth. Frank. Lab makes my body rebel, it makes me assert myself as alive. It gives me a painful and nauseating hunger. I was overcome looking at my professor's necklace as she explained the pterygoid ganglion to another group of students. Just then, I felt two hands on my shoulders and turned around to see Ben, smiling brightly. We each carry around so much history. I overheard someone say, "You look so beautiful! You must be a woman in your thirties!" I thought I was defiled before, but I keep getting more and more defiled, fuller and fuller of experiences stretching and pulling and tugging and shredding. It fills me with anxiety to hang onto it, but when I let it go I am an explosive river, Saraswati overflowing her banks. I don't have innocent optimism, but I do have a tremendous tenderness for everything.