The following story was first published by the Sierra Nevada Ally.
It had been a long time since Frank De Palma had seen his own reflection. When a nurse at Ely State Prison finally handed him a mirror, the face staring back was a stranger — and Frank cried. He’d known his hair was gone, had seen his hands change, a topography of wrinkles and scars, but his face had aged unseen, without a witness.
For 22 years and 36 days…