The Demon of Your Body

The showers were in little booths with a fan hidden behind the dropped ceiling and a little shelf for you to put your clothes on. There was a full length mirror on the inside of the door, tagged and scratched with signs around the edges. Someone had gouged fuck the salvation army! into the glass by the door handle.

Colleen was heavier now, but still bony enough that black lines striped her chest, shadows of her ribs. They fed her, but it was a slow process, relearning to eat. “I’m going to get fat,” she promised her reflection. “I’m going to be huge.” The hair between her legs had started to turn gray and she touched it with wondering fingers.

Steam fogged the mirror when she stepped out of the shower. The Devil watched her while she got dressed slowly, his horns and face white and misty, his eyes blank reflection. “I don’t know how,” said Colleen. “Do I pray?”

“Later,” said the Devil. “Later will I instruct you, and later will I spread the world before you. Rest now, and rebuild. Eat, o my best beloved, and be safe.”