bioflash: "Closed"

“Spineless jellyfish!” Sheryl snapped. “That’s what you are, Ben.”

That night, she acted like nothing had happened.

Ben relished the fresh wound. He held it close, the way a child both resents and covets a hidden hurt. In the dark, nourished by sullen spite, his black seed sprouted.

And so, with time, he learned to revile everything about Sheryl.

She hugged him. What a dreadful choke hold.

She cleared behind the couch. Always judging him for being messy.

She said “I love you.” He heard “You should be grateful.”

In studious silence, Ben seethed, waiting a lifetime for a forgotten apology.

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