Under The Shallow Water: A Collection

Projections

There's a worm in the fruit. Blackberries among the maggots. A fox is here, pure white. They don't have foxes in the West Indies. He's only interested in the maggots. He's staring into me with his blackest eyes. Then he smiles and I can see maggots begin to wiggle and squeeze out from between his teeth, now stained black from the berries.

Now the maggots begin dripping from his mouth in a teeming mass onto the ground. He's still smiling and they begin squeezing like overripe tears from his eyes.

I feel pulled closer. His smile broadens and I can see his mouth is now clean and pure. His teeth are sharp and white, and he starts to laugh. I try to laugh with him, but in his black eyes I see my own hand in my mouth and taste the salt of my skin. Then I smell the rot on my breath, sulfuric and intimate, and now I know what I've done.

I know I'll vomit soon, and I can feel a tear start digging its way to the surface.