The metal basin tingled against the bareness of my flesh as streams of cold water washed over me. The plumpness of myself squished against the cold walls as if I was the missing piece of a puzzle or, rather, an attempted solution to an unrelated problem still unresolved. 

It was the beginning of everything as I knew it. From a warm home to an empty one, I had no idea what was to come. Life, they say, is a miracle in and of itself. They never mentioned how cold it would feel.