I have a little sore on my foot. It's small, but annoying so I put a band-aid on it a few days ago. The bandage has long since fallen off, but the sticky outline of where it was remains. It is interesting what thoughts that outline conjures up.
If someone were to see that outline, they would immediately know that a band-aid had once been there. More than likely, without even realizing it, their eyes would wander to find the wound - the reason for the bandage in the first place.
In novels when you come across characters with old band-aid outlines, it makes you wonder what their original wounds were and what caused them. The residue can take many forms: an unexplained sudden temper, nightmares or cries in the night, an air of superiority, or simply a dark cloud. At times we don't realize we're looking at old bandage outlines, we think a character may be mean or timid by nature, and sometimes that is true. But not always, and often the old bandage and the need for it are the whole point of the story.
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