The Writer's Workout

What the Body Refuses by Aneisha Gupta First Place The first time my throat tightened at the temple, I thought it was God. I was ten years old, standing barefoot on the cool stone floor of our local Hindu temple, waiting for my offerings, waiting for my prashad. As far back as I can remember, my birthdays always began with prayers at the temple alongside my family. Incense curled toward the ceiling, blurring the golden edges of the deities. The priest’s voice rose and fell

How do you picture a “Freak of the Night”? Does he loom over you and haunt your nightmares? Is he made of someone else’s (or several...