IV | Break Up

❦

The leaves
of the rowan tree
are orange again.

They're not flying anymore.

The tree isn't talking,

it's not whispering.

The leaves are moving in the wind normally.

My fingers close around thin air.
She's pulled her hand away.

I'm staring into Rowan's eyes.

She rubs
the back of her wrist
over her lips,

trying to erase some bad memory.

The tips of her ears peeking out of her hair

are angry red.

Ah, reality.

Somehow the school gate
seems less real

than the golden city now.

Rowan's skin is porcelain.

She's like a doll
wearing clothes too big for her.

The tree must be made of rubber.

My friends are calling my name.

Cat calling.
Making obscene sounds.

I'm trying to remember what happened.

Ah.

I kissed her

without
asking.

'My bad. I'll treat you to dinner.'

(Then, we're even, right?)

She picks up her Bible.
She dropped it.
It lies closed on the ground.

She walks away without another word.

'Oi, Clyde! Faster leh.'

'Leave some of the chiobu for us.'

'Later other people chope the field, how?'

I think about giving Rowan
the finger.

[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]