Chapter Text
There is a bad man in the forest.
It is dark
and the boy is alone.
He hides in the ferns
stifles a pained intake of breath
when the small yellow seeds
lodge in his eyes
already stinging from tears.
There is blood on his hands
and he tries not to look at himself
but does
and sees a body charred and broken
slashes gushing dark red
deeper near his stomach
shallower on his arms.
Burns on his hands
yellowed, dead, peeling skin
dotted with yellow
seeds.
There is a bad man in the forest.
The boy doesn’t see him until too late
when a scream cuts through the air
and he falls to the dry ground
eyes dull
with yellow seeds in the corners
sticking to tears
still running down his face.