Thank you for this pain.
Thank you for the torture.
Thank you for this experience,
this humiliation
that allows me
the chance
to become something more.

If not for you
and these past nineteen months
I would be stuck.
I would be stable
but in stasis.
I’d be $20,000 richer, sure
but poorer by so many stories.
I’ll be dining out for weeks
on that abdomen scar alone!

I have learned so much about myself
through these months
about my tolerances
and allergies
and the structural integrity
of my building.
I am wiser now
and have realized many things
that are all to your credit.

I owe you for this.
I thank you for this time
and these lessons
and the growth that will undoubtedly occur after the healing is complete. I appreciate what you’ve done.
Now, before the police arrived
get out.