Cynthia Tottleben

Self Portrait Cynthia Tottleben

Uninvited visitors. Her life was infested with them. They had played hide and seek under her skin for decades. Took residence in her closet. Rummaged through her food when her eyes were averted. None of them knew any boundaries. The woman did her best to tend to their needs, but her visitors had long worn out their welcome. Sometimes she nurtured them. Baked and did arts and crafts, or even held them hostage when necessary. Other times she set her guests afire and cackled while they melted on her floor, screaming for mercy. This episode started with an Uninvited Male. The woman knew it had been a mistake, the second it happened. A grade- school error, letting the man from the elevator see what room she occupied as he walked down the hall toward his own. Within hours the man was back, pounding on her door, demanding attention. A violent guest she did not want to entertain. Or the onslaught of others he brought with him.