and the soreness from the pads of her feet. She heard the thunder trumpet dangerously outside as the washcloth gently swept over her breasts; she felt her lungs contract in time with the lightning outside, an underlying thrill of potential spiking in her deep green veins. Her trembling fingertips traced the protruding bones of her ribs, white and slender as they pressed against the skin that held them at bay like wild dogs on a leash. Her hip bones quaked underneath the throbbing knead of the water and her knees buckled as her hand found the sun that had dropped out of the clouds and taken refuge between the dark wet between her thighs.