Preserved

Ruby sat atop the serpentine curve of the dune watching the sinking sun, her eyes following the lengthening shadow of the lone bleached tree in front of her as it ghosted towards her over the sand. The Eritraean coke bottle lay empty between her blistered feet buried to it's waist in sand. It had been a reminder of better times, of when they met but now it was defunct it could not satiate her thirst. There was no message in this bottle. Well not that sort anyway. Thoughts of him bled into her consciousness and she felt the bile rise to her throat. The betrayal was still fresh and the wounds deep, still oozing. She could not think of him kindly, not yet, even as she absorbed the warmth of the African sun to heal her wounds.

This time of bitterness and gall would pass though. Her internal goodness was preserved in spite of the abuse. Obscured at present it would rise again along with the strength at  her core where it lay in hibernation, hermetically sealed out of his reach. When they met she had been a delicate bloom, a blossom of orange fruit and over the years she had become pulverised like marmalade. There was no going back, no undoing of the process but time would pass like water under a bridge and one day she would trust someone enough to unscrew the lid on her marmalade heart and let them taste the preserved bittersweet delights within her.

As the sun finally dipped below the distant dunes, chased away by the approaching night she prepared to turn the hour glass to its new beginning. This wild space untouched by the hurts of men was a balm to her soul. She was enveloped by its protection. It sang to her "walk my scorching sands and use my blisters to obscure the pain. I contain innumerable moons, one reincarnation after another. Stay with me until you find the one that reflects your soul-song and then you will have found the strength you need to go on."

The copyright of this post belongs to Holly Khan