Little May

Julie used to be beautiful. She used to have such long flowing hair, a slender but toned body with skin which glowed and a beautiful face. People used to say her eyes sparkled like jewels and that she had a wonderful smile.

But that was a long time ago, or so it seems.

Julie also had a beautiful daughter. People loved her daughter, they loved her laugh, the light in her eyes, the way the two of them looked so alike and how she always followed Julie around like a little lost kitten. Her daughter was her baby.

But Julie remembers that day so long ago.

“Mommy, where are you going?” Julie’s daughter asked.

“Look, aren’t these flowers wonderful!”

“Mommy, don’t touch them. It’s bad for you.”

“Look!” Julie picked one of the flowers and showed it to her daughter.

“Mommy, the man said…”

“You know you can eat these. They taste delicious, just like candy.”

“But Mommy! The man said that it’s forbidden to touch anything here.”

“Just try it honey.”

“He said bad things will happen!”

“Come on sweety, he was only trying to scare us, that’s all.”

“No mommy! No.” she had stomped her foot and crossed her arms. Julie thought her daughter looked so cute when she was annoyed. So she just laughed, falling down onto the grass.

“Well then I guess I’ll have to have them all for myself.” Julie had said. She had put the flower’s head in her mouth and bitten it off.

She could remember her daughter’s scream and then in that moment, everything had changed.

She always regretted what she had done. The consequences for disobeying the Keeper had been severe. She rubbed her belly with her claws, the aching hunger in her stomach. She was cursed in this monstrous form, forever craving flesh and blood. She was disgusted with herself and yet still she ate, letting the blood spill over through the gaps in her teeth.

Oh how she missed her old self. Her mouth was forever full of junk, her breath stinking of corpses. She very badly wished for a bath, to brush her teeth, to eat normal food again, but that would never happen. That was the curse for eating the forbidden flower.

But worst of all was seeing her daughter. Her daughter was the one who kept her tummy full, who kept her alive. Little May was still there for mommy, even now.

And it pained her, like a thousand needles stabbing her in the back, or a serrated blade cutting open her chest. It was agony to watch her daughter wandering the streets alone. It was hellish to see the blankness glazed over her once bright and beautiful eyes as she stared into nothing.

Always when she saw her daughter luring in her next meal did she feel her stomach drop. It was that smile she gave them. That smile and that wave. When she’d say, “let’s hold hands.” And it hurt Julie because it was fake. But it wasn’t supposed to be. That’s what life should be like for her. Her daughter should be smiling. Little May should be making friends.

And so Julie tries to stay away from her daughter now. She cannot bear to be near her. She cannot bear to see her or even be reminded of the pain. So it is only when her hunger strikes the hardest does she return. Only then does she allow herself to gaze upon her once beautiful, now destroyed daughter’s face.