Chinese Brushes
I awakened that day to an early morning sun warming my skin and the sounds of birdsong drifting into my cell. A steaming cup of dandelion root and young nettle tea had been placed on the floor near my head and the shade raised, so I lingered a moment in the sunlight stretching slowly, stiffly, before rising. My nipples throbbed dully as I gently sipped the hot tea while trying to ignore a growing discomfort in my bladder and the weighty metal shackle around my right ankle.