I read about Rapunzel syndrome, where sufferers ate the hair they wrenched free. The strands knotted inside them, plump and dark, deep within their belly like a swallowed secret.
Rapunzel, Rapunzel by Rijn Collins
For many years my fingers would creep into my hair to wrench it out by the root. The sweet relief of this was extraordinary and addictive. If obsessive-compulsive disorders are difficult to explain, they’re even more difficult to stop. My route back to health involved a tattooist’s chair, the mythology of Medusa, and the grimmest of fairy tales.
Rijn Collins is an award-winning writer with over 100 published short stories. She writes for ABC Radio National and won the inaugural Sarah Awards for Audio Fiction in New York.
You can find Rijn on her website, Twitter, and Instagram.
Acknowledgements:
Memoria is written, produced, edited and presented by Nat V.
Rijn Collin’s short story, Rapunzel, Rapunzel is written and performed by Rijn. The story is edited by Jen Farrow.
Music in this episode is by Blue Dot Sessions, “When in the West” and “Lamplist”.
Illustrations by Peta Manning. Her book, See Me Doodle, is out now.
Sound effects used in this episode by:
Tattoo maschine By Wuaga CC BY 3.0
Ambience, Wind Chimes, A.wav InspectorJ CC BY 3.0
Turn Page Alixgaus CC BY-NC 3.0
Scissors being closed 1 By S. Dedalus CC BY 3.0
Hairbrush By Caitlin_100 CC0 1.0
Hairbrush being plucked By StudentTanita CC BY-NC 3.0
ambient_loop2 By cubicApocalypse CC0 1.0
ambientForrest By nerdmanship CC0 1.0
vague aigue de crotales By nicolasdrweski CC BY 3.0
marker on whiteboard By edctrainer CC0 1.0
Queneau ambiance classe 01 By hubertmichel CC BY 3.0
Metal-hit By Vendarro CC0 1.0
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