[CONTENTID1]3

(mentions of blood, 1,745 words)[/CONTENTID1][CONTENTID2]

         Her head tilts upwards to the heavens above, and she can feel the first raindrops on her face. The wind greets her again, and her shoulders rise out of coldness.

         Hours have passed since she first entered the woods. The sun has long set, and the night has begun its reign.

         Her condition has also gone worse since she found out the horrible mechanism of the fruit. Her many attempts of escape were all half-hearted, for the slightest pain crumbled her will each time.

         At this point, she has already gone through a myriad of emotions. Unease, fear, panic, remorse, sadness, and by now, she is a tired shell, growing angrier by the second.

         “Did I do something so bad that I am being punished like this?” She demanded, yet no one answered her. Of course, no one will ever answer at a dire moment.

         So if there is silence, then perhaps, she was bound to answer for herself.

         The maiden tries to stand one more time. At this point, the apple has grown so large and heavy that sweat seeps out from her skin with the mere effort to carry it. Her arms tense and the thorny roots that have entered her veins poke her within, hurting her like never before.

         She squirms, pale and dry lips pressed together as she sobbed. It is already so dark, and only the light from the silver moon is ever-present to at least help her study the silhouettes that dance and scurry within.

         She was cold, tired, and starving while the fruit continues to the life out of her.

         “It hurts… it hurts… it hurts…”

         Fresh hot tears spill from her eyes, wetting her cheeks and staining the spot around her chest. She knows what she must do, and it needed an insane amount of courage to power through. She attempts to gather some through her words.

         “I want to be moved heavily like a giant that pushes a mountain, and I have indeed been moved. I took pride that something mystical clung on to me, only to realize that I was a prey falling for the predator's trap.” She stares ahead at the moon with a heavy grimace, “I wanted the moon to look at me with the same adoration I held for it. Funny how it looks down on me now, shaking its head pitifully at the gullible person that I am.”

         “I wanted the sort of joy that fills me with much contentment that when I lose it, I would not fear or regret it. Did I ever regret picking you up?" She stares at the ever-growing apple the size of a barrel. "The answer is no. I did not know your true intentions. I was meant to pick you up. Perhaps this is not punishment, after all. Perhaps I am fated for this much pain."

         "I love all that is found in these woods, and I have loved you too. You oh sweet one.” She falls on her knees and takes another bite of the humongous piece of fruit that held her palm captured, and oh how sweet it still is, even when it hurts, even when it takes from her, it is as sweet as she first bit it.

         “I ate from your flesh. Took so much from you until my stomach ached, and you wore my praises and seeped my energy in return. As it should. A simple give and take. Who would have known? Who would have known!” She glares up at any gods that may be listening before she sits back on the hard ground with spread legs, her palms, and the attached fruit found between the said limbs,

         “If ever I start to hurt, I want to bleed. Make all of this feel remotely worth it in the end, I beg.” She muttered and took three deep lungful breaths, bracing herself. “It is time to bleed.”

         The maiden pressed her barefoot on the fruit, leaned herself back, and pushed the fruit away by slowly unfolding and extending her leg while remaining her palms steady.

         She could feel the skin on her palms pulled and extended. She does not stop. Her leg stretches, pushing the fruit away, the pain slowly turns unbearable, making her muscles tense as they became defensive. But her body cannot protect her when the maiden herself intends to hurt.

         Long groans and blistering cries awaken the creatures in the woods as she raises her other foot and kicked on the apple with all that was left of her strength. Soon enough, she could feel the slightest distance between her palms and the bottom of the apple. It did not have to be a wide gap. Even a millimeter was enough to hope for freedom.

         The cost of her endeavor takes light as she realizes tha