Maddy Campbell

As Above, So Below

For the first six months, Olympia’s back felt like it was on fire every time they shifted around, trying for a more comfortable position. Around a year, though, things really began falling into place. Olympia’s ward had been on his own for a few years, living in a small ground-level apartment with warped hardwood floors in the middle of a small city. Not that Olympia knew much about the city— their focus was always on the floor, and the wooden planks holding their ward’s mattress up. It was a modest bed, they thought, and their ward changed the covers once a month. He was hygienic. Olympia admired him for that. Every morning they would watch as his feet hit the floor, avoiding the slight bump where the wood had risen, pad over to his bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. It was a therapeutic routine for the both of them.