The stage lights blared as she neared the end of her solo. The air tensed increasingly, she felt as though the hands of millions were traveling her body, searching for something she didn’t want to give up. A loving connection, that’s all she hoped for. Every piece of trauma building her. She stood there silently, gripping the microphone, her gaze glued to the floor as her heart pounded. She couldn’t shake the touch of the many men who used and abused her.

She clenched her teeth, feeling the tension in her body, her mind racing along with her heart..feelings so familiar..Too familiar.