Even if harm wasn’t deliberate, your nervous system still had to carry it.
And when it is? Oh, you’ll feel it.
You’ll feel it in your bones, your flesh, your entire being.
It might come in waves or flashes; strike out of nowhere.
It will knock you out without you seeing it coming.
It will take you down if you let it.
It’s sinking feelings and creeping inklings.
It’s physical bodily memories that eat at you in the back of your mind and the bottom of your stomach.
It’s discomfort in your own skin, for as long as it's still yours.
It’s knowing people by their footsteps and it’s saying what you need to just to get by unscathed.
It’s having to be your own guardian angel.