The part removed

“The Part Removed” retells a personal family anecdote. Both in form and content, it explores the tension between the parts of the anecdote shared for enjoyment and the parts intentionally left out. Often told at family gatherings, the first half of the anecdote is a story of a seven-year-old boy refusing to go home, having a tantrum and shouting out “You bitch! You bitch!” to his uncle. The part of the story not told is what happens after, where the boy’s distress leads to unexpected threats of violence to his body and soul. “The Part Removed” follows three voices involved in the anecdote: the uncle retelling the story, the “you” who internally replies, and the parts crossed out that are meant to be unspoken. All the while, childhood pain and the possibility of self- mutilation haunt the short story, as it does every time the comedic family anecdote is shared.