Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Honey

by John Xero


Spanish boys taste like honey.

The child Delilah used to watch them from her window, playing football in the dust. Later, older, she dared to go out, lean against the hot, red brick and smile back beguilingly at their catcalls, fluttering inside.

Older still and she struts for them; she paints her face, wears a corset, stockings and heels. Each catcall steals a little more. They press her against the brickwork, cold now beneath the stars, the only fluttering the Euros they toss in her face.

She used to love the taste of honey, but life ruins every sweet thing.






(Originally written for Lily Childs' Friday Prediction)
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16 comments:

  1. Magaly Guerrero11 January 2012 at 12:12

    Can't have too much of good thing... or a bad thing, I guess.

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  2. R.S. Bohn11 January 2012 at 13:19

    Life ruins every sweet thing.

    Only if you let it, Delilah!

    I root for a woman who starts here, and finds a way to change everything. Takes off the corset. Walk away. Anywhere else. Find your strength.

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  3. Anonymous11 January 2012 at 13:42

    Very nice!

    Reminds me of my old school friends and, for better or worse, how much we have all changed since those 'younger' days!

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  4. Peter Newman11 January 2012 at 13:49

    I like this. Feels very different from your usual fare (which I also like btw!)

    The turning of hot to cold along as life soured was a nice touch too.

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  5. Larry Kollar11 January 2012 at 14:40

    A sad thing, when we're trapped by others' expectations. I hope she learns to find a way back to some self-respect.

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  6. Zaiure11 January 2012 at 20:31

    Beautiful and heart-rending imagery. I love how the last line relates back to the first, something I like to do with poetry. :)

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  7. John Xero11 January 2012 at 23:02

    Why are the comments all weirdly formatted..? >_<

    Anyway...

    Thanks, Magaly. I think Delilah's definitely had enough...

    Thank you, Rebecca, thanks, FAR, the rest of her life is hers... unwritten.

    Thank you, Jack, Pete. =)

    Thanks, Zaiure. One of the things I like about shorter and ultra short prose is that you can play with the form and structure on a level akin to poetry. Sometimes it's hard to separate the two... =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John Xero11 January 2012 at 23:03

      oh, hey, there are individual reply buttons now...

      Delete
  8. Helen A. Howell12 January 2012 at 06:02

    Oh poor girl! Honey is not always as sweet as we think, sometimes it can be too sticky.....

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    Replies
    1. John Xero12 January 2012 at 07:50

      Thanks, Helen. Being sweet doesn't always get you where you want to be, either...

      Delete
  9. Joseph E. Lerner13 January 2012 at 13:20

    Great example of how much you can say/do in 100 words. Congrats! You know about #fictioneers? We post 100 words every Frday. Mine's at http://furiousfictions.com.

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    Replies
    1. John Xero15 January 2012 at 15:58

      Thanks, Joe. =)

      I didn't know about #fictioneers, thanks for the heads up. =)

      Delete
  10. Steve Green14 January 2012 at 18:26

    I think maybe Delilah has now seen and experienced the bitter side of life so much that it will be difficult for her to find sweetness in anything any more.


    PS. I had the same double-take when I saw the formatting today, and I much prefer the new look where you can post the replies between the comments.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John Xero15 January 2012 at 16:01

      You might be right, Steve, sad to think so, though.

      Thanks for the comment. I prefer the ability to reply to comments individually too. =)

      Delete
  11. Sonia Lal15 January 2012 at 20:53

    Poor Delilah! Too much sweetness can give you diabetes; best to eat less of it! Hope she finds her way back.

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    Replies
    1. John Xero16 January 2012 at 09:06

      Thanks, Sonia. It's not always the easiest kind of place to find your way back from.

      Delete

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