Bitter 2

dangerous thing to do,” he made sure I heard these words by saying them again, “…a very dangerous thing to do.” Then, with a perfect shake of his head, Phillip’s eyeglasses fell from high on his forehead to the bridge of his nose at which time he held the still burning match to the tip of a copper nozzle that, up until that time, had been emitting only a flammable gas. With a flash, the torch caught fire, the heat of which managed to momentarily warm my face. Lost in his work again, I left Phillip for Robert’s, where an engagement party had just begun.
While making my way to the party, I hatched the specifics of my plan, details that I could work out only now that I understood the properties of the medicine that I had been given. For a moment, I considered the fate of the second pill. Not anticipating a future need for it, I decided to try and administer both pills simultaneously. I reasoned this would double my odds of success. I considered drugging Robert but decided against it. My conscience would not allow it, besides, I wished to return him to his normal state of mind eventually, not alter even further. Also, I did not want to impress upon him the love of any other woman simply by virtue of him having looked upon her after swallowing the tablets. It would be Zora then that I would give the pills to. Her lack of physical strength when compared to mine would make her easy to overpower, something I thought I would very well have to do. I also gave careful thought to the surroundings. Because she would fall in love with whomever she gazes upon while receiving the pill, I made the obvious determination that Robert must not be present. I also concluded it unfair to loosen Zora’s affections on someone innocent of these affairs. No one, I thought, deserved to be the object of Zora’s lust. Here I struck upon a perfect candidate for Zora’s new love interest – me. I would be quite comfortable, in fact rather happy, dismissing her advances if indeed the pills worked, and, I could virtually guarantee that she would be looking at me after swallowing the pills by virtue of me having given them to her.
Finding a moment alone proved my next obstacle, but I figured correctly, as Robert’s best friend, it shouldn’t be too difficult to invent an excuse to speak with Zora alone. While safe from the eyes of onlookers, I would forcibly shove the tablets into her mouth, once they took hold of her spirit, her unabashed love for me would kill Robert’s desire to wed her, thus saving him for the day when he finds true love.
I could hear sounds of celebration coming from Robert’s house well before I got there. I couldn’t help but wonder about Robert’s other friends. They toasted to his engagement while never stopping to consider the gravity of the situation. Can’t they see that she uses Robert’s youth to hide her own age? Can’t they see she uses Robert’s wealth for her own profit? Can’t they see she uses Robert’s good name to increase her own social standing?
Later, as dinner plates were being cleared from the table, I sidled up to Zora, and with false concern, requested her company indoors where, I led her to believe, I wanted to discuss ideas for the speech Robert had asked me to give the day of their wedding ceremony.
I led her through Robert’s large home wanting to distance myself from the crowd in case my efforts were to cause a great deal of commotion. Owing to the feelings of revulsion that she engendered in me, I wished to limit physical contact with her, however, I understood that I would have to act aggressively.
While I followed her towards Robert’s office, with one hand in my pocket, I fingered the capsules nervously, while Zora, in her hoarse voice, rambled on about her vision of the perfect wedding. With pills at the ready, I summoned my courage and made my move.

Using determined athleticism, I used the full weight of my body and pinned her against the wall. I smoothly withdrew from my pockets both pills. Her face became instantly panic stricken. She thrashed about and made a noise that sounded something like a gulp and a scream. Then, I heard footsteps in an adjacent hall, whose, I did not know. For a moment, I contemplated aborting my project before deciding to press ahead. With one hand, I grabbed her bottom row of pointy teeth and pulled her jaw downward presenting a target. I clapped the palm of my free hand over her mouth, depositing both of the pills while I did so. Her teeth clicked as I clamped her mouth shut and held it that way, her resistance proved futile. I understood that my violent behavior would be quickly forgotten once the pills took hold of her spirit, and for this reason, found little reason to act timidly. The footsteps I had heard drew closer. I recognized the gait as Robert’s. I feared allowing her to open her mouth, thinking she would spit out the pills, but I eventually gained confidence that my attack had worked. Robert now began to call Zora’s name. By his voice, I knew him to be very near indeed. Zora’s eyes softened, where before I saw fear, I now saw affection. The corners of her mouth, only recently turned down in disgust, were now turned up in a smile. Yes. The pills were working. One of her hands snaked up to my face and stroked my cheek tenderly, I shuddered and caught her hand with my own, and placed it at her side.
Just then Robert appeared in the doorway. He did not comment on the unusual predicament he found us in, in fact, he did not even seem to notice. Something else altogether afflicted Robert, something terribly serious, for he seemed visibly shaken. When he spoke, his words trembled, “Zora, I…I am sorry. I’ve called off the wedding, I can’t do it, I can’t…it just doesn’t feel right after all,” then in a humbled voice, he spoke at the ground as he addressed me, “Although I’ve asked the guests to leave, you are more than welcome to stay.”
Robert’s words were a welcome shock, in hearing them I forgot about Zora, and in doing so, allowed events to transpire along a tangent which I did not foresee. Overcome with her drug induced love for me, Zora clasped her cold hands about my face and pulled me close so that our noses almost touched. Before I could wrench myself free, she locked her mouth over mine and kissed me. Her foul tongue wormed its way into my mouth. Seemingly forever we were attached in this fashion. Never before had I received such an unwanted and preposterous show of affection. Before our lips separated, I felt a pill swirl about in my mouth. It could not be! Hadn’t Zora swallowed both? I looked into her eyes with disbelief while the remaining capsule dissolved against the back of my throat releasing its bitter contents into my stomach. From there, the potion held the reigns of my heart, for to this very day, Zora and I are completely and hopelessly in love.

The End