Stumps

"My mother was born without toes,” my friend said. “As a child I didn’t think anything of it. I thought all mothers were the same. Then one day, I went to the beach with some friends and their families, and I was shocked. All the women had toes. So I thought girls grew into them as they got older, like breasts. Except all the girls had toes, too. That's my coming of age story."

                                     ink dripping
                                     down the canvas
                                     bamboo forest