Bonded

A love that lingered afloat

inside for years,

yet I never thought it would come

to fruition.

Fruits resplendent with pink flesh

that when plucked, became replaced

by something resembling a plum.

Eager for another taste, I pressed

the purple orb to my lips.

These new fruits

made me vomit, left me weak.

They tore at my insides,

they drained me

of everything.

When all seemed lost, a pink fruit fell

at my feet.

I consumed it, lived in it, and was filled

with life anew. Painless. Invincible. Warm.

In its place dropped five poisonous plums.

Wanting warmth once more, I knew

I had to put poison to my lips

to reap the reward. Give and take.

Pain for pleasure.

I curled into a ball, awash with fear

and screaming for help to all

who would listen.

All seemed hopeless

until a luscious piece of fruit fell to my feet.

I tore into it, swallowing

pit and all.

I suddenly found myself walking

along the sands of a secluded beach,

her hand in mine, white hair flowing

like the tail of a kite in an autumn breeze.

A little boy and girl, similar in hair color

with skin like morning milk,

held each of our free hands.

The warmth filled me.

Like a celestial joke, the sky became black.

Water thrashed around

beneath the dim glow

of a now-red moon.

The children screamed and melted

away into the sand,

becoming one with the ground.

I felt fingernails pierce my other hand.

Her eyes matched the color of the moon,

hair ablaze with blue and purple fire.

Her fair skin had become coarse

like gravel, cracked and bloody.

She laughed while I dropped to my knees

and blood leaked from my palm.

I tried to break free, but her grip

was iron tight. I screamed

at the biblical horror surrounding me.

Like a witch, she plucked a piece of fruit

from out of nowhere. I recognized

its painful purple hue.

Blood ran down her arms

and mixed with mine,

sending a stinging sensation soaring

throughout my body.

I begged for death,

the nectar wouldn’t be enough

to

save

me.

She speared her sharp nails

through my chest,

tore out my heart and tossed it

into the violent sea.

Before I collapsed, she put the poison plum

inside the cavity that housed my heart

and sealed it by burning

my flesh with her hand

I gasped for air, slipping away into

the bony, cloaked arms of Grim Death.

With a cackle, she disappeared, leaving

a luscious piece of pink fruit

in her fading footprints.