The preschoolers scampered through the garden, clutching their butterfly nets and insect cages. The teacher pointed out the katydid marching up the daylily scape, the leaf cutter chomping through the Brandywines. Her long hair stuck to her neck, and her inner thighs chafed from sweat. She craved iced coffee, for the coldness, for something to shock her into feeling. “Look Miss Nancy! Ladybugs!”
The children jostled around the sedum. Nancy moved slowly, trying not to wince. The ladybugs swarmed the waxy leaves, hundreds of them, coupling and uncoupling, falling to the ground. Paler colored beetles took flight. The males pursued, wrestling the females with their tiny legs. The pairs swirled down like maple seeds.
A small girl sobbed. “They’re fighting.”
Nancy stepped towards the child. Pain seared through her pelvis to her sitz bone, reminding her of last night, of Roger stumbling through the dark to bed, rousing her with his beery breath. He’d yanked down her panties and took her from behind, hard. When she cried, he thrust harder. She felt something in her backside crack and she rolled away. He slapped her cheek as he came all over her stomach. The welt stung almost as much as the single word he’d spat at her when he left.
Nancy stroked the crying girl’s hair, translucent in the sun, and considered whether to correct the girl. Fighting, mating. Everything seemed filmy. She touched the end of her sleeve to her eyes.
***
Inspired by the 52/250 Flash a Year Challenge theme: animal behaviors. As a writing friend commented -- animals have 4 behaviors: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating. I think I covered them all. Peace...
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Perfect. No, really. I'm in awe. I would pay to read this.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
WOW. Amazing writing, Linda. My hat is off to you on this one.
ReplyDeleteWhat misery when it can possibly get filmy. Another reason to dissuade ladybugs from lighting on my property.
ReplyDeleteI like the parallels you draw from the animal world. [For some reason though, I was thinking the four behaviors all start with "F"....]
ReplyDeleteA really powerful piece. The descriptions were wonderful, vivid. The woman's experience shocking and nicely juxtaposed (!) with the girls confusion and fragile naivety. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteAmazing writing, Linda. Wow.
ReplyDeleteThis one really packs a punch. The harshness of the teacher's experience is really emphasized by the innocence of the first paragraph. Poignant. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteBrutal writing, Linda. Cuts like a the jagged edge of a window frame.
ReplyDeleteI love how you chose an animal/insect generally thought of as being sweet and nice- a ladybug and the little girl's reaction to their 'fighting/mating' and set the whole image against the teacher's physical pain and memory of the previous night's assault. I'd call it rape, really. Poor things.
ReplyDeletePowerful piece of writing. Kudos to you.
Wow! That's all I can ever think to say about your work Linda. Your stories always pack a punch and this one has got to be one of the best, if not The Best, yet. Wow!
ReplyDeletewell done Linda, you are a magic weaver
ReplyDeleteAll, thanks so much for your generous reads and comments. I remembered my own daughter's fascination with ladybug mating sprees, which served as partial inspiration. Not sure how the rest got there, but it did. Finally some down time, off to read yours! peace...
ReplyDeletePowerful, Linda. The imagery and language in this is exquisite. The way this piece transitions from the beautiful first part to the horrid second part is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe welt stung almost as much as the single word he’d spat at her when he left.
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful line, Linda. It speaks to the animalistic behavior that she endured. To him, she was nothing more than a compulsion satisfied.
Well done.
So sad. I was chilled by this piece, Linda.
ReplyDeleteJai
Absolutely awesome short story, brutal in its directness. Very well written.
ReplyDelete