332 No Pain, No Gain

"You have CIPA—Congenital Insensitivity to Pain/Anhydrosis, an NTRK1 mutation. It blocks the pain and temperature signals going to your brain. Very rare."

"Yeah. 1 in 25 million. We seldom live past our twenties."

"Yet, here you are."

"Not for long."

"Yes. I'm so sorry. Third-degree burns over 90% of your body. We can't keep your electrolytes in."

"You don't have to apologize."

"Pain. Most see it as a negative. They'd love to have your mutation."

"They should look at me. Half my jaw gone because I didn't know when I bit my lip, infection...well, you know the rest. No pain, no gain."

"That's a novel reworking of the phrase."

"Well, consider my life. Self-injury and never knowing. Pain doesn't just hurt, y'know. Its real purpose is fear. Being afraid to touch the hot stove—again. I've no fingerprints. And that's just the beginning. No, the real value of pain is being afraid. Being afraid is what saves our asses. Not the pain; not the hurt. Not the pain signals that go or don't go to the brain. It's the fear."

"Being afraid? I suppose that hurts, too."

"I wouldn't know. I can't even sweat. I can't even sweat out something that should scare me."

"But you know cause and effect. You knew walking into that house could kill you. After all this time beating CIPA."

"I knew that mother—her baby. She just stepped out for 5 minutes. For diapers. He was asleep. How many single mothers have taken that chance?"

"Many, I suppose."

"What could go wrong?"

"Famous last words."

"She was screaming. I knew what I had to do. No one else could. It's not like TV. You can't just burst into a whole burning house."

"Maybe that's the reason for your CIPA. God works in..."

"Don't!"

"Sorry. You knew, though, you'd probably die."

"But I didn't die. Not yet."

"Then why do it? Because your injuries through life deformed you into a pariah and you wanted to go out a hero?"

"No. It was because I was finally able to be afraid. Just like normal people."

"Afraid of what? Dying?"

"No. Afraid of living with myself if I didn't do it. That fear felt good."

________________

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

About this story: CIPA is really a thing. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3564101/#:~:text=Congenital%20insensitivity%20to%20pain%20is,cannot%20feel%20pain%20%5B1%5D.)

These persons lead horrible lives of unintended self-injury and their complications. Pain is what helped us to survive as a species.

Pose, Pose, why do you suppose

That Pain is our name?

Because that's what we chose

And life without Pain is a long endless chain

Of errors repeated again and again

So don't be afraid of Pain don't run away.

--Pose Ode, by Pain.

For Wednesday, November 27, Day 332 of the 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge.

366 WORDS (without A/N)

34 DAYS TO GO! THE SIGNALS KEEP PROPAGATING ON IN THIS VOCAL CHALLENGE, 366 ACTION POTENTIALS A DAY.

There are currently three Vocal writers feeling the pain in this 2024 Story-a-Day Challenge:

• L.C. (OUCH!) Schäfer

• Rachel (YELP!) Deeming

• Gerard (OW!) DiLeo