Rotten Apples

A Story by Olivia Danielle

She had a certain smell, something pungent that followed her everywhere she went. Her hair was black with streaks of grey, and she had a smile that revealed her yellow, crooked teeth. She looked like a nightmare, every time she came near me I’d squeeze my eyes closed and pinch myself but she’d always be there.

She’s still alive, much to my dismay.

She reminded me of a rotten apple, filled with worms and maggots, enticing me to take a bite. To let her back in. Sweet on the outside, but rotting away on the inside.

I started to see people the way she saw them, she turned them into monsters. People I once loved started having that same stench she carried.

But she can’t control it, I’ve said over and over. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.

Every word she spoke was poison that infected my brain. I think of the day, the day that will come where I’ll see her limp in a hospital bed. Near death. Will I feel any pain? Will I regret dreaming of this day? Will there be a slight smile to my face?

Her stench will always be there. I’ll always see her smile. She’ll never fully detach from me, and she really became a part of me that I repressed. She’s the little voice that I caged away, that shouted obscenities. I turned her into something physically beautiful in my mind, but I’ll never forget her for what she is.