FirstLineFiction beta

from Contest #7

She's a local. She cleans up frog shit in the swamps down the road, but she's got eyes that grab a man by the umbilical cord and stretch him out into the road wantin' more.

First time I seen her she was sittin' at a little make-shift booth in the middle a' town square talkin' about global heating or some bullshit like that. I was new to town, as my parents'd just moved us out'a Raleigh into Chesapeake Falls for a breath a'fresh air. They wanted to get away from the bustle and hustle of city traffic and foreigners with fuzzy lips and stink-filled hot dogs. The first thing I seen on her was her breasts, warm in the daylight of a sweet tea afternoon. I knew at that moment that I'd one day marry her and take her as my wife for a crystal-white weddin' in the month of July.

"Would you like to save our swamps?" she asked. She had one buck tooth and a pimple that was covered up all purty by makeup on the left side'a her neck.

"What's in it for me?" was my response. I was already thinkin' about what kind'a invitations we would send out to our families.

"Well, you would be able to help save the frogs. And there are plenty of other plants and wildlife that are suffering the atrocities of global warming. Just by making a small donation, you would help us to save 10 frogs."

"Have you ever tried frog's legs?" I asked, straightening out the buttons on my shirt.

"Um... no. I haven't. I don't think I would like it," she frowned. It seemed that she was startin' to ill just by thinkin' about it, so I sat on her table and put my arm around her back.

"Let me tell you a little somethin' about frog's legs," I began. I leaned in real close and whispered, "No two are the same."

"Listen, you seem nice and all, but if you're not going to make a donation or volunteer, then I'm going to have to ask you to be on your way."

"Volunteer? Well why didn't you say so? I'll go help you clean up frog shit. Might catch me a few of those lumpy lovers and make a supper for two."

"Well... okay. Just sign up on this line here. We're meeting on the corner of Beeks and Michigan this Saturday at one."

"Darla... you did say your name was Darla, right?"

"It's Kate."

"Well, Kate... you can count on me to be there."

"Okay... great!"

That Saturday at a quarter to twelve, I stood on the corner of Beeks and Michigan, chewing on some spearmint, wearing my father's suit and tie that his father made for him during the War. My mama had kissed me goodbye at the door, givin' me a few words of wisdom for my date. "Just say, 'Your eyes make me feel like pancakes are already cookin' when I wake up.' That's what your father said to me the day he asked me to marry him."

"Oh hi," she said as she walked up to me.

I picked a dandelion from the ground and blew it right past her. To this day, I have never told her what I wished.

"It certainly is lovely to see you," I said, bowing like a gentleman. "Shall we off to the swamp?"

"Okay. But I think you're going to need some thicker boots."

"The thickest boot is in my heart," I quickly bit back, lifting my brows for her to see. I offered her my arm, but she just continued on. It made me want her all the more. 

I walked alongside her, taking in her musk. Her hair was a golden yellow like fresh french fries with lips like sweet ketchup. I wanted to consume her and hold her tenderly in my arms until she wept for mercy.

"I feel a little strange mentioning this," she began, "but I wanted to let you know that what's between us is just about the swamps and the litter clean-up. That's it. There's nothing... else."

"Oh I do understand, my flower. I intend none other than to show you my everlasting love for your strange hobbies."

We got to the edge of the swamp, and there wasn't a frog to be found. She grabbed a soggy canvas bag from her backpack and started to pick up beer bottles and food wrappers like she was the queen of the county. I could do none other than watch her glory shine into my ferocious eyes.

"You... are so beautiful," I blurted.

"Thanks. Uh... you want a bag? You can start picking up stuff around the other side."

I couldn't help it anymore. I grabbed her, pulled her close into my breast, and said, "Your eyes make me feel like pancakes are already cookin' when I wake up."

She tried to release from my grip. "Let me go. Please... just let me go."

I got down on one knee, but as soon as I did, she started to run away. "Darla, will you marry me?" I screamed.

My sweet flower ran through the woods as fast as she could, but I was faster. The more she resisted, the more I wanted to consume her. "Wait, my sweet!" I declared. 

I ran up to her and tackled her to the ground as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "LET ME GO! HELP! HELP!!!!!"

I grabbed the knife from inside my breast pocket and swiftly stabbed it into her gut. "Be silent, my love. Rest, and be at peace."

She screamed as loud and as bloody as she could, but she could not rouse anyone. Her screams made my heart flutter in a silly, wild passion like a stallion running through a waterfall. I covered her mouth with my loving hand, and she bit and bit, but I would not let her conquer. I pressed harder and she gasped for air, choked and choked and choked until her wild screams rested into a peaceful sigh.

"And now, my love, since you have said 'Yes,' we shall now be wed."

I dragged her back to the swamp, and we both went into the thick mucky pond together.

"Do you, Darla, take this man, Ezekiel, to be your husband?"

I felt her spirit whisper "I do."

"And do you, Ezekiel, take this beautiful, gorgeous woman to be your wife?"

"I do."

"Then we must bind you two in a marriage that lasts beyond the grave, and into the infinite."

I pulled us both under the water. I held onto her tight and prayed for the good Lord to deliver us. I felt my body convulsing and charging with love, but I held on tighter. I was shaking and my mouth opened and I sucked for air and we were provided with a miracle. Mucky sludge screamed down my throat and I began to feel that sweet choking feeling of marriage.

It was our love that had brought us under the surface of that water in an eternal bond that blackened the sumptuous, wild ferocity of sufferers and guided us into the blissful ignorance of attraction.

back to Contest #7