she coughed and her ribs formed a semi-circle. it was escaping whether you wanted it to or not. she didn't. shaded specks made it harder for her to see. glasses broken. fingernails in her eye sockets. her senses disappeared. all you could do was pretend, what you were best at. what she expected. say goodnight or her chest will bring her down. infuse your hands into her stomach until you can feel her spine digesting. the best way to feel. embrace the coldness. but don't hold on too tight or else it'll feel warm again. like red. the epitome of her temptations. she dreamt of them. it didn't blind her like the sun and the nails, but she felt it in her earlobes. it made her dizzy. thank your god for all the times her fingertips turned blue. more controlling than her. thank your god for not planting it on the tip of her nose. or for better yet, she would inhale it. we knew the outcome. the golden trees found their way up into your abdomen. they fixated their branches until you felt them prickling at your throat, where the pain was the most familiar. the most comfortable. don't ask her to let go of it.