I am seated sideways on a stairway or mountainous trail. A woman walks by and pauses. She says that her feet are worse than mine. I notice they are deformed and she takes small mincing steps like a Chinese woman. I look at her hands, which look like Merle's hands. I ask, "Rheumatoid arthritis?" She says, "No, between the legs," and hobbles away. I ask how long she's had this disease. She says, "About a year."