[dedicated to my very dear friend, Nicole]
“Down bandit! To your knees!”
Am I not a warrior? Am I not the
scourge of the southeast?
But I fall
to my knees regardless. There’s nothing
left for me. Yes. Ready to die.
He strikes
me. My vision goes dark. Blood spews from my face. And I fall.
Fall to the depths of the pool.
Fall to the depths of the pool.
Please let me die.
She’s
watching, her little hands pressed to her mouth in fear. Tears mark her face.
I love you, she whispers.
Who dares
love me? Who dares beg me not to die?
Live, she cries.
Is love
enough to save me?
