A more varied diet finally had the desired effect, and the wounds slowly healed. Fruit and vegetables were my favourite, to such a degree that I ate them either raw or cooked, pureed or liquidised. Plums in particular were plentiful and easy to pick from the curved tree that grew near the shop; I made delicious preserves with them, adding sugar and spices.
It was by chance that one day I learnt the medicinal virtues of such delicacies. The little wounds still covering my plum-stained hands, indeed, seemed to heal twice as quickly and without the littlest scar.
I then set on applying compresses of such jam to the most painful and weakened parts of my body, head and hair included.
It worked perfectly. My stomach wasn’t in perfect shape yet, but it had always been my weak point. Only its i
