Leprosy

It begins with patches on the skin — light or reddish areas where sensation goes out. You touch yourself there and feel nothing. No warmth, no pressure, no pain. Gradually, the capacity for sensation withdraws, like a resident going from room to room switching off the lights in their house. The nerves fall silent. The tissue changes. In advanced stages, the body itself becomes distorted — as if it were saying goodbye to its own form, piece by piece.