Candy Challenge

I think friends are like peppermints

You grab them by the handfuls when you’re young

As you get older, you aren’t allowed to grab piles from the bowl at the restaurant

So you only grab one and tell yourself you will make it the best peppermint ever

You savor that one piece while it lasts

Refreshing, sweet, you smile with the candy beneath your tongue

For a moment, frozen in time

It is just you and that red and white circle stuck to the inside of your cheek

You memorize the craters and dips

Swirling, it performs a ballet meant only for you

Valleys carved by sugar washing away

All at once, all too soon

You go everywhere with the minty taste in your mouth

Sucking on the hard exterior until it gradually gives way to its pure white center

You know it like the back of your hand

You’d never imagine letting it go

But it wasn’t your decision

All peppermints dissipate eventually and it’s just a matter of time

And everyone told you it would happen

But you let yourself forget for a while

Forgot how much it hurt to throw the empty wrapper away

Forgot how it hurt when the sugar left a bitter aftertaste

Forgot how you would search desperately for another

Only to realize you had run out

So when red stripes fade and sugary taste leaves your mouth

You are left empty with a sorrowful wound that cannot be soothed

You tell yourself no more peppermints

No more sugary taste and minty fresh breath because it won’t last

But then you spot a bright blue tin filled with red and white pinwheels

And you pick the one sitting right on top like it called to you and maybe you knew better

For a moment, you appreciate the sensation that washes over you as you pop the candy into your mouth

But just as soon as it appeared, it’s gone

I know friends are like peppermints