Sweetish

Chapter 9

After what felt like a long few minutes, longer every time Dulce comes here, finally he touches the tree that marks the edge between the shore and the forest, luckily unmarked by the border.

Dulce patted the trunk and declared in a proud tone, finally free from the cage of anxiety that silently haunted him, "Here it is!"

"Here it is? " Sammy repeated.

Out of nowhere he lifted the flowing skirt of leaves with with no shame or hesitation, revealing a cove that was full of miles and miles of opalescent crystals.

The size of an earring stud to the size of small home, they all looked as if they were glowing. Dulce knew this is what she was stunned by, and decided to tell her what his father told him when he first entered the cave.

"Some say that these crystals are so bright and pure that they reflect any light that enters for 2 million years. Come on, let's get a few."

Dulce took off his shoes and left them on a crystal that looked like it was dull and dirtied. Sammy followed suit. They rolled up their pants and stepped into the crystal clear spring water puddles of the cave, purified by thousands of years of sand and stalactites. The only signs of people were baskets and odd symbols carved into the rock.

There was a burst of air that hit Sammy's lungs, so saccharine sweet it nearly candied her insides, and her mouth began to drool so much that by the time she noticed, she had already added a drop or two into the water before covering her mouth in embarrasment.

Dulce patted her back before entering the cave himself, leaving the leaves behind to hide the entrance once again.

A long time ago it affected him too, but his body had gotten so used to it over the years that he barely notices the shift anymore.

"Alright," Dulce started. "So what you're gonna want to do is-"

"Hey hey hey, I'm helping you, remember?" Sammy interrupted, full of vim and vigor.
She proceeded to wrap her coat around her waist and tie her hair up.

"Let me be your knight in your time of need, my darling, you shant lift even a finger until my debt to you is repaid."

She then took off her blouse and marched like a soldier toward the ones that looked the most ripe, intending to gather them into one of the baskets she had picked up.

"Alright, fine, you don't need my help." He responded in a mix of annoyance and amusement. "Harvest away, oh brave and noble knight."

Fifteen minutes had gone by and she only managed to shake loose ten puny rocks. It was impossible to tell what was ready and what wasn't. Dulce had been sitting with his arms behind his head on a smooth boulder of sweetness.

He finally decided to give her determination a break and piped up;

"There's an easier way. "

Sammy turned around in relief. "Oh thank goodness." She sighed, letting go of the act.

Dulce closed his eyes and gently felt at the wall beside him. His hand stopped at a point, made a fist and in one swing cracked a full crystal into pieces, causing a chain reaction that shook bits and pieces from the ceiling right into the water, like a shower rainbow colored pearls.

Sammy's relief faded into bewilderment.

"Why," she asked, barely able to register the prank he pulled, "why didn't you do that the whole time?"

He took the time to answer as carefully as he could. "Well I was going to," he stated "but then you took your shirt off."

The next thing Dulce knew, the world had gone dark and his face was covered in two different fabrics and a pile of sugar crystals. All he could hear was her frustration and laughter.