Dry Hands

Your hands are always dry and chapped. Sometimes people ask you why.

You wake up every school day and head out to wait for the bus in the cold, with no gloves, nothing to protect your hands but the pockets of your jacket or pants. But that's not it.

You wash your hands every chance you get, scrubbing and lathering the skin, cleaning the contamination of other people's flesh. But that's not it.

You loathe the sensation of moisturisers and lotions against your body, even when the coating splits and bleeds from dehydration. But that's not it.

Sometimes you see what it is, when you can't sleep late at night.

After all, how could you rest with it sucking on your arms like that?