fiddle . nine . cb [fin]

[pogue]

Aldo "Fiddle" Mendleton . Nine . Seventeen

[pogue]

F  I  D  D  L  E

She’s buried under a mountain of torn blankets and bedsheets and I can still see her shaking, ice still piercing through skin too thin and bones too brittle to fight back against it. She’s always cold now, fingers curled into her hands and skin blushed red, dotted with purples and blues all along her body.

She likes to hear my voice is what she told me months ago, likes to hear the songs I sing because they make her feel safe, remind her of what home is. And there are still  echoes of generations old songs dripping from my lips when I finally stop, feeling them swirl and dissipate as the silence takes over once again, screaming in the darkness and making my mind go numb.

She wakes only when I go to leave, creaking floorboard betraying footsteps I’ve worked so hard to keep silenced. I watch her eyes flutter open and hands shake under the blankets, ripples of pain and fear darting in her eyes.

I curl my fingers into hers and whisper into the darkness, making a promise I have no choice but to keep. “I’ll be back soon, Anna. Gotta go play, y’know?”

She nods and I smile through the pain, all curling lips and eyes too warm for the ice that haunts my own heart.

“Catch my kiss, okay?” 

It’s tradition and it’s heartbreak and it’s the only way I can ever leave her now, desperate voice in the back of my mind telling me it might be the last thing she hears from me. A blown kiss and her hand moves slightly underneath the blanket, lips still curled into a smile as I slink out the door.

—

I melt into the street corner, cracked bucket placed at my feet in a desperate plea. Fingers curl and knuckles run white as I grip the bow, feeling my bones creak and groan as I press the instrument to my chin. I hear no beauty as I play anymore, hollow melodies of loss to come spilling out to the pavement below as I stand, catching coins and catching kisses.

[pogue]

Done! Last cab from Ratmas <3 


ripred_bot

[umber vivuus 12b 🥀 [dars]]