Ankle Pain

My ankle felt a stab of pain as I got up from dinner tonight. I thought it strange; I couldn’t remember having hurt it during the day. I lay down and called to mind all the cures I could remember for phantom ankle pains. Spells, healing images, ancient stories of miracles – none could dissipate the pain, and soon my ankle had swollen. I could only hope that in sleep, healing dreams would come unbidden. The last thought I had was of a rumor I had heard – that certain people believed that material cures could heal the internalities of the body.