[P] the vine & the rain & the light

[Apolonia]

I CAN SEE THE FUTURE, IT'S A REAL DARK PLACE -

She did not think much about him except when she had to. And some part of her simply always had to. 

Apolonia is too young to know not to pick at a scab, too foolish, too disillusioned, and so her brain is still a roadmap through the Land of Enchantment, desert-dry and open-air and overwhelmingly beautiful even for the way it cracks open at the slightest touch.Too natural to know better. 

In the silver light of the moon, she is a statue. Long-legged, svelte, marble and soot. Her dark hair shines a bright blue under the starshine and almost it matches the rocky glimmer of the hurl bat pinned against her hip, sharp-edged and infinite.

She cannot know how he looks at her - like she is a long forgotten god, a walking omen. Bizarre and beautiful. But almost she catches a glimpse of it as he appears on the black sand and looks at her, a curiosity, a watchfulness in those amber eyes that makes her almost self-conscious, a feeling that crosses her once in a blue crescent moon. Her heart picks up speed in her chest. 

Is this love? A strange warbling sound plays over the dunes. A flute, a clarinet, a new life - no, no, no. O inhales deeply and trembles. Almost.

Only if you’re a stranger, she answers, and grins at him, and it’s strangely both real and warm even in the cool darkness of the night. 

She wants to be loved. Is there any greater desire for a daughter?