Gradually
By M D Smith IV
The steel tines of the rake screech across the blackboard. I can't make it stop. Not now. Not ever.
Once, it was smooth velvet against a waiting cheek. Those were happy times.
The years crawled over me like a spider on a bug in her web. Helpless but still attracted.
The morphing tenderness turned to vinegar. Unnoticed then.
Affectionate feelings inside the skin, now transposed and flaming pain at any slightest touch.
Twisted inside out, and only now noticed.
Immense regret remains, unhelpful salve of comfort.
Love slipped away with daily routine. Took flight. Never to return again.
She was gone.
Author Notes: M.D. Smith, IV is a storyteller living in Huntsville, AL writing short non-fiction stories for Old Huntsville Magazine plus over 200 fiction in recent years.
For more features, such as favoriting, recommending, and reviewing, please go to the full version of this story.