The shadow bent down on his knee, and lowered his head, then it presented the heart to The Shadow Man. This pleases him so much that he chuckled.

His laugh startled the crows near the Black forest. The Shadow Man took hold of the beating heart. He held the heart with his claws.

‘‘This heart has been through hell. I can tell. It had managed to still fall in love. How sweet.’’

The Shadow Man made a face and said, ‘’Yuck. Humans and there need for bonding. This heart also seems heavy.

‘’Oh, his love left town. Well, why didn’t he follow her? No way— she had a family.

‘’She did not tell him. Man. That does hurt.

‘‘Anyway, now thanks to my pack of shadows, this guy will not have to worry about a thing- not at all!’’

The Shadow Man opened his mouth wide. The heart went down his throat and straight to his belly.

*burps*

‘‘Excuse me.’’

The Shadow Man smacked his lips. ‘‘This heart was a bit sad. This is why I can not send a shadow to do my work.’’

The shadow apologized. It bowed & left its master to search for a less blue heart.

#CeCœur<3 ©

07/09\2020.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wVa5e880QmQ

this heart

it thuds

shaking the

darkness

this heart

it drips

spills

blood

on the floor

this heart

has motives

but wraps

them in

filthy

bandages

this heart

consumes

feeds off

of whatever

it can take

this heart

it's evil

but that's

not the

worst part

this heart is human

This heart

Is a dictionary

full of random combinations

of things that no longer matter

I

take great pride

in my knowledge of fun facts

I could go days

without talking about anything else

did you know

I told you once

bananas are curved

because they grow towards

the sun

and did you know too

that snakes are able to predict earthquakes

and guinea pigs are more social than you or i

did you

know?

you

as you always did when

I said things like that

changed the subject to

more trivial things

like your job

or your mother’s new holiday

that was coming up

I

eventually grew tired of speaking into

hollow ears

of having to speak a language

that felt foreign

and forced

and

grew out of you

and towards the sun.

This heart beats.

This heart doesn't.

This heart sits in the cage of bone.

This heart sits in the cage of fingers.

This heart cries out in glee

This heart cries in anguish

This skin feels chills

This skin feels numb

These bones tremble in excitement

These bones tremble in terror

These eyes see red

These eyes see not

These eyes gleam with bloodlust

These eyes remain closed for eternity

The tour guide told the crowd, “This heart belonged to an alien that crashed landed on Earth about 100 years ago. You can get an exact replica from the gift store! If you would please follow me this way…”

Shane had stopped listening and did not follow the tourist group. He only focused on the encased heart. It looked dried and charred. Red still shone through brightly. Everyone in the area knew the story of the alien. The being had emerged from a crashed meteorite and slaughtered an entire town in one night. The very next day the survivors watched as the dark demon with a bright red chest deteriorated as morning came. Only the crimson heart remained.

Shane made a run for the alien’s heart. It had been the subject of his dreams for countless nights. The same dream each night where an androgynous voice would whisper in his ear. The voice enticed him ever closer to the heart’s location. Because of it, he had come here. It would be his.

He finally reached the raised pedestal. Shane grabbed for the heart. Security guards charged and closed in around him. Before they reached him, everyone in the room froze.

Except for Shane.

He heard the same whisper from his dream softly say, “You will watch.”

Shane was paralyzed not only from fear but a physical force. He could not move. His mind was his own, but his flesh was not.

He then started to froth and convulse. Sweat began pouring from his body. That was when the blood followed. Shane felt nothing but he did hear the same voice repeatedly whisper, “You will watch.”

Shane had turned into a blood-soaked mess. He watched as his skin liquified, and his bones broke. At the nexus of the floating, convulsing glob of blood was the heart. Around the heart, the blood started to orbit rapidly, and it started to move closer to the security guards.

Shane tried to call out for them to run but it seemed as if they were frozen too. The blood started to form and gravitate towards the armed guards. It went straight for the closest guard’s throat and the blood poured into his mouth. Shane watched as the man started to sweat, shake, and convulse.

Shane heard a frightened male voice scream in his mind, “Where am I? Did I die? What is going on? What do I do?”

Shane replied somberly, “You will watch.”

This heart, sits in a little lavish box, surrounded by flower petals and adorning a ribbon.

This heart, nestled in such a cosy cocoon, thumps in rhythm with her little gasps of fright.

This heart, taken from the one she loves most, offered as a delicacy, as an offering of his love.

This heart, from him, to her.