30 - Hold

30 - Hold

Everything about her was miniature. Her tiny fingers and nails, her mouth, and eyes. She stared back at me like a lost lamb looking for comfort. Her head feeling warm and fuzzy. She was a pink ball of skin wrapped around me, looking for some comfort in her crying need. Her eyes started welling up, water droplets dropped, bouncing on my shirt.

I held her close to my chest, I could feel the heat radiating off her. We both locked eyes and it was as though we both felt a connection, we both felt each other’s pain. The more I stared the more I realised her face felt more familiar, it was as though she was mature enough, like cheese.

I was growing like fine wine, her newly born skin stretching, her enlarged eyes shrinking in a matter of seconds. I held her tight to my breast but as she sprouted it was difficult to cling on to her any longer. Her body, once the size of a dinner plate now human sized, the small, tufted hair on her scalp grew out into long strands as if I had fast forwarded her growth.

I let go, I had no other choice. My arms no longer had the strength to carry another living soul. She looked terrified, her eyes dilating, her lips cracking, her legs pulling out like violin strings. She was towering over me, she was at least 6ft, she could have been a model if she had grown in experience also.

She stared down at me in sorrow as though she was the one who felt sorry for me, like she was looking after me, not the other way around. I understood why. Just as she stretched, I shrunk. I was once near 6ft myself just a few moments ago, now I was barely 5ft.

I began feeling weak, my bones felt as though they were crumbling like falling rocks. My posture bent like a flamingo’s body and the pain was unbearable. I looked straight at the palms of my hands, wrinkly, like crumpled paper and nothing was making them change. I felt parts of my legs and forearms. They were flabby resembling chicken wings.

She looked back at me like a mirror of who I once was only a few moments ago. She crouched down and held me tightly, my head on her chest just as I did with her. The power behind her muscles stood out against mine that seemed as if it would break apart at any moment.

And then, they did, I started to drift out into the ether, my skin flaking around me. There in front of me, she began the same process as me. I could see her skin loosing up, her strength detartrating. We no longer had panic hidden in are eyes but a more calming sense washed over us both.

We were now both decaying but at different speeds and we were no longer saddened by this. Her shaky, paper like skin took hold of one of my arms which had nearly disappeared and we both smiled knowing what we were going to become. Even though both of us were weakier than before we held on to each other tightly.

I was mostly dust and I could see it was her time also. She wept as I felt myself turn into ash, my presence still around lying on the ground. Even though I was not with her personally, I watched her fading away, ashes falling by every moment.

I could feel the darkness around my soul, until a few seconds later I realised I owned eyelids which I opened. I was back in reality; I was the age I grew slowly. There was no baby holding onto my chest as that was my reality it seemed.