I turned the burner on high,
letting the quick stench of gas
fill my nose before
the flames licked
the metal above it.

I waited.

Slowly, I lifted my hand
and placed it on the burner,
but no heat stung
my skin.
I pressed harder into the flames,
hoping that some agony would
break through.
Nothing.
I watched as the flames charred
my skin, turning it black.
Nothing.
It turned flakey and fragile.
I took my good hand and started picking away at
the dead skin,
peeling and pulling and tearing.
Nothing.
I reached my bones but I did not stop.
I shoved my face into the roaring flames
and prayed for anything.
Nothing.
Madly, I pulled the blackened skin off
and peeled away the evidence until
I was nothing but a skeleton.
I ripped my bones apart and dismantled
myself before I put
all of my pieces into the fire
and finally
disappeared.