My little oasis
My starling blue
Heaven is a place
I'd leave for you...

We twist upwards until we become great vines and deep roots.

I scream with unbridled desire until I am washed away under the drums of the congo.

There is something wild within us, something uncivil. It bristles in the green trees shaded by moss and wide hickory brown branches, entwined in the overarching flow of life and oxygen.

Deep within, we grow. Time after time again, waiting to break free from the cages of our shelter.

I feel the flames within my heart bursting, like the red-breasted birds who calls the dew to linger, the mist to shine, and the rain to dry. Our hearts will always follow, never far from the pine oaks, and hallows.

If a watch ticks every second, in a soothing and symmetrical pattern to measure time, how will we notice a slight shift?

When the, "tick, tick tick" becomes tick...tick ti".

That is what change feels like. Sometimes it's grand and colorful like a Mardi Gras parade, but what happens when it's a small change? So small that we don't notice that our watch is broken.

I've got love on my brain, it's light like shimmering dew, but yet I can not see the thick vines, that grow underneath in a tangling web. I should have said goodbye, but strangely I have this feeling our story isn't over yet.

"Hey, Ed!" I waved cheerfully, watching him open up his station.

The morning rolls hazily in like clouds stretching their feet under the clear blue blanket of the sky. The sun is just warming up, breaking between a clear cool layer, in happy content. Today is as majestic as the maghony hues that I trample underneath.

His eyes light up with merriment, "Paul?" he asks in disbelief.

The old man has probably never seen me so chipper. I shake my head, disgusted by my behavior, "pull yourself together!" I lectured myself.

"Do you want some breakfast?" he offered, beckoning me closer.

I pause, grappling with my two opposing attitudes, "yes, please" I answered.

Ed smiles, "good" he grunts.

We walk into his store, it smells like coffee, a fresh brew steaming in its kettle.

Ed winks, as he hands me a bag of donuts off the shelf, "I steal too" he chuckles.

I rolled my eyes, "it's your gas station" I point out.

Ed sit down in the corner of his store, where he has two broken chairs. "I use to do this with Camille" he shrugs sadly.

I chew silently, his sadness reaches my heart and rubs it like a sore muscle. Camille was his daughter, but she passed away in a car accident. It's been five years, and now Ed has to grow old by himself with nothing but his fading memory to warm the empty spaces of where she used to be.

"You're getting fat!" I teased, taking away a donut from him.

Ed chuckles, his wrinkled face relaxes and his movements are as slow as sand drifting into the watery shores, "I'm getting old, son" he grumbled yawning.

"Shut up, Ed," I said softly, "your heart still beats, and your mind still wonders" I reminded him.

Ed looks at me solemnly, his grainy blue eyes, are covered with a warm and loving texture, "I need to start looking for someone to take over" he groaned as his muscles screeched like a blown out tire.

"I can't lift or see as well anymore" he chuckled. His trembling hands wither like leaves scattered in a gust of wind. The few hairs he has on the top of his head, shine with a white and silver sheen.

"Why are you telling me this?" I snapped angrily, throwing down the donuts.

Suddenly they tasted like rocks in my mouth. Alot of people in my life came and went, and because of that abandonment was my biggest fear.

"So are you going to die?" I spat bitterly, because my true feelings couldn't come out.

Ed put his hands around me, "Hey son, no no no! We are dying from the day we are born. Our very first breath means death is in existence. I'm sorry to scare you. I've just been thinking about retiring, living out my golden days on a tropical island, happy and fat somewhere" he laughed.

Ed takes a deep breath, I can hear the life wheezing in his windpipes, "I just worry about you. When I leave who will look after you? Who will you let love you?" he asks.

I roll my eyes, "You know I'm fine" I said shifting uncomfortably, "I can take care of myself" I reminded him for the thousandth time.

Ed raised a brow, "Oh yeah? Who will let you steal things when you think they're not looking and not call the cops. Who will let you go into that filthy truck and turn their eyes away because they know you need money?" he points out.

I blushed, feeling stupid. Ed knew all along...

Ed shrugged, "listen I don't have much or else I'd give you the world Paul, but that life you live is dangerous" he warned, "it will catch up to you, and I hope that it's worth it," he said gently.

I gulped, "I have two more clients Ed, I swear. One of them has big money. I'll be paid enough to get out of this life and I'll never go back" I promised.

Ed shook his head, "there is no amount of money that is worth what you are paying for everytime someone strips away your body."

I was starting to feel annoyed.

"Does this new found desire to quit have to do with that girl that's been lingering around here?" Ed asks getting up slowly.

I could feel my face turning red, I babbled nearly choking on the donut, "she needs me!" I coughed nervously.

Ed smiled, like a wise old sage, "are you sure it's not the other way around?" he asked leaving me to my thoughts.

I grabbed a cup of coffee, looking at the time and thinking to myself, "only two more clients and then I'm done"

(Feather's Pov)

"You're going to have to tie my hands down!" I screamed to Figs, as I grew restless by the minute.

Figs grunted, his head halfway in the bowl of cereal he was shoveling like a pig into his mouth.

"Just chill out Alexis" he groaned, burping.

I cringed, he was gross.

I bit my lips as my thoughts drifted to every scenario Paul could be in right now, "I can't! I love him and he needs to know!" I blurted out.

Figs jaw dropped and so did his spoon, the loud metal clunk vibrated through my ears. I didn't mean to say it out loud, but the words had such a powerful effect on him, my brother looked pale as if he seen a ghost.

We stared at each other for a moment, until he cleared his throat, "I thought it was just a silly crush or just another one of your infatuations" he groaned.

I smiled, "no, I'm sure I love him" I whispered defiantly.

"How do you know?" he challenged.

I closed my eyes, "because not seeing him right now, hurts. It hurts more than when the doctors opened up my veins, or cut my arteries and put my heart back together. I've never cared about someone as much as I do him" I ran my hands through my hair, "I just need to tell him" I shrieked.

Figs rubbed my back, soothing my anxiety, "what if he doesn't love you back?" he asked studying me, with a sternness I had never before on his face.

"I guess I can't force it but it's the not knowing that's killing me!" I sighed, "perhaps my super cool brother could snoop around and find out" I hinted.

Figs grumbled, "Goddammit you're driving me nuts!" he mumbled grabbing his jacket.

I ran behind him, "where are you going?" I demanded to know.

Fig rubbed his temple, "I'm going to go to the gas station and see if he's there. No promises, I barely know the guy but if this will get you to shut up, then I'll talk to him and find out if he likes you" he told me.

I cried, happy little tears sprouted from the corner of my eyes, as I thanked him.

I kissed his forehead, "you're the best brother ever!" I chanted.

Fig smiled sheepishly, "I love you too sis, just stay here and relax, doctors orders. I'll bring him home" he promised.

My feet couldn't contain their happiness, as I bounced around, skidding across the tile kitchen in my socks dancing like I was Elvis, "yeeeepiee!" I sang as I shook my tail feather.

My brother pretended to gag as he got his keys, "you are such a hopeless romantic" he laughed.

"The gas station down the street! It's the one with the big truck, you'll find him there" I yelled at him as he walked out the house.

"FEATHER SIT YOUR ASS DOWN AND RELAX BEFORE I GIVE YOU A SEDATIVE" he screamed before I heard the door shut.

(Paul Pov)

Sometimes, we learn how to fight before we learn the power of kindness.

We've been beaten down to our core by words people didn't mean, and now we mean less without them.

We give them the power to shape us with their vile hatred,

Their words fuck up our mental until love is just four letter broken askew. And at the end of the day, you're hurt and wondering how could they be so angry? But in the same breath why did you drink their poison and give them the power to hurt you?

I left my heart outside of the truck, it was the one place no one could violate me. My fingers dug into the leather strips of the ripping sofa, the seams unraveled as I began my work.

"I'm a very powerful man, discreteness is not a suggestion," my client reminded me coldly.

I rolled my eyes, the ego of the rich was despicable. Every once in a while, I'd get lucky and a man with a fetish for the poor and abused would stroll into my truck.

They often had the highest demands, paid the most to play out each sick fantasy in their head, but they were also dangerous because they more to lose.

"I don't know who you are, and I don't care because I'm a nobody" I assured him.

He was a tall bulky figure, with rough hands, and precise beetle like features. He reeked of money and a lavish lifestyle. He studied me, his eyes shifting under the bulky arch of his eyebrow. I felt myself shiver as he hunted my every move.

I shuttered, his cold touch railed down my body like sharps claws. The smell of his cologne wavered in the small unventilated spaces of my truck.

My heart was pounding, something instinctual came over me. I didn't feel safe, as his eyes measured me from head to toe. They were depraved and odious, as they watched my every move.

I was scarred.

His hands slithered around my bare chest. I quivered in his touch.

"Fear is a sign of weakness" he chuckled, reading me like his prey.

I backed up slowly.

"What do you really want?" I asked.

The Mayor smiled, his teeth were long matching his devilish grin.

"You're smart. I like that" he said pacing around me.

"I want you to be my sex slave. I have a business just across the border. I take in the no-names, the homeless, the criminals, and those who society will never accept. I make them gods" he bellowed.

I blinked, my ears still registering what this insane man had just laid before me as truth.

"I know it's unbelievable, but I promise the money from my business is real. All you would have to do is sell drugs as well as your body for me," he said casually.

"So, you'd be my pimp?" I gulped.

The Mayor arched his eyebrow, frowning in displeasure, "Don't be so vulgar boy, that type of work is beneath me!" he spat grabbing my chin.

His rough blistered hands scrapped against my jaw. I was repulsed as I struggled in his abusive hands.

He forced me to look into his eyes as he tightened his deadly grip, "I am your king, your God, and your beginning and end! The type of work I will make you do will make slavery sounds like fun. So forget your morals" he snarled.

I pushed him away roughly, "Listen, I don't know what type of drugs you are on or what mental institution you escaped from but you need to leave now!" I yelled.

I was prepared for the beatings I would receive but anything was better than spending another second in this danger.

I felt his cool breath whip against my skin, as he pressed his lips to mine, "you are so handsome," he teased, "did you really think I was asking?" he laughed.

He shoved a small white card into my hand, it simply had four numbers written on it.

"Think about it," he insisted.

He took off his shirt, "I still paid for my hour right?"

I contemplated giving him his money back but the look in his eyes forced me to quickly undress.

His hands lingered on my body, sending chills up my spine, "don't ever tell anybody" he whispered kissing me.

I had given the man permission to be a monster, the look in his eyes withered my soul into flames. I would burn today, he would chastise my body, and punish my soul, with a sick vengeance.

He shoved his hands into my pants, sending my senses spirling. I was gasping to breathe, suffocating from his harsh and relentless lust.

"I am going to take you to the edge of pain boy, and when you can't scream anymore. I will break you with pleasure" he promised, panting.

I bit my tongue, thinking of the money.

"Do it!" I dared, as I laid my body down for him.

His muscles shook with each thrust, and his hair covered his face, like a sick ragged doll he devoured me. My screams filled the truck as I exploded with pure raw pain.

"Shut up!" he laughed, throwing me to the floor.

Blood dripped from my nose, apparently punching was the new foreplay.

"Mayor Dewine?" a small voice asked uncertainty.

We both froze.

I looked into Figs eyes horrified.

"I thought you locked the damn door?" he cursed, panicking.

He rolled off of me, struggling to make himself decent.

"It's no one, just another street rat!" I said thinking quickly.

Mayor Dewine shook his head, "no, you fucking idiot, I work with his dad" he paced around.

Figs stood trembling, his eyes were wide open as if he wished he had unseen everything. No one spoke for a moment.

"I'll just have to kill him. He has seen too much" he said grimly, "No one will believe a dirty homeless prostitute but Xavier 's parents know too many people," he sighed pulling a blade out if his suit pocket.

The Mayor gave a stomach churning smile as an idea came to mind, "but before you die let me taste you boy" he offered. Red lust filled his eyes as he inched toward Figs.

I had never seen the color run dry from Figs face before, he stood frozen and petrified.

I lunged towards Figs trying to use my body as a shield but the Mayor was quicker and stronger.

I felt the clash of thunder beat against my body as the Mayor took me out in one effortless motion. His muscular arm wrapped around my neck as he pounded his fist into my bruised ribs.

The pain was indescribable as I screamed in sheer agony, I felt my bones splinter as I hit the ground with a harsh thud.

Figs scrambled for the door, like a mouse scurrying away from a trap but it was all too late.

The Mayor grabbed him by his curls yanking his head down until Figs fell to his knees.

"Nooooo!" I screamed, my hands trembled violently as I tried to reach out.

I saw the tears pour from Figs dead set eyes, as the Mayor's hands slid down his abs, stroking him roughly.

"What's wrong? Are you too good to have a little pleasure?" the Mayor asked licking Figs ears.

My heart shattered as I looked away, afraid and helpless. I gritted my teeth trying to suck in the pain so I could help him.

Everyday someone did this to me, but to see the innocence flicker away in Fig's soul was too much.

His filthy lips continued to defile Figs body, kissing him below until his eyes closed.

With everything I had, I slowly stood up. The pain pounded away at me until I was sick but to see Figs become nothing but a still silent ghost was worse than any experience I had.

The Mayor was too busy with Figs to notice my slow but steady movement. I looked around desperately for a distraction.

I picked up a candle I had which was enclosed with a glass case and threw it at the Mayor.

I had perfect aim.

He howled grabbing his face, as he twisted and turned in agony.

"You little bitch!" he cried, thrashing around blindly.

I pushed Figs aside, my actions quick and reflexive, "Leave now!" I yelled shoving him out the door.

Figs didn't think twice, as he dashed out and ran.

I watched the blade in the Mayor's hands, it was balanced and he was strong. Something told me he had done this before, and if he got the chance he wouldn't miss.

"I will make sure you and your friend never live to tell anyone" he snarled "you are a nobody anyway" he shrugged.

"Perhaps I'm somebody," I said trying to keep him distracted by talking, "maybe I have friends in high places too" I mumbled nervously.

The Mayor raised an eyebrow, "I highly doubt that this city is small, I know everyone. You're just the trash that the wind blew in" he snickered as the blade inched dangerously close to me.

"I'll scream" I reasoned inching around him slowly, with my hands up.

He grinned, with cold blood curling eyes, "we both know this truck is soundproof, and far enough from the gas station that no one would hear you" he said lunging at me.

I moved like a struggling rabbit, the tip of his blade glinted red where he had nipped me. The truck had four corners, and two were deadly, I couldn't outrun him for long.

"If you hurt me, I will call the police" I threatened.

He shrugged, "what proof will you have? Accident happens every day. Even if your friend testifies, I am above the law" he laughed, sending shivers up my spine, "I promise no one can touch me unless I want them too" he said blowing taunting kisses at me.

"I can always visit Xavier later. I know where he lives, I know his family...I know where they work..." he made a snapping motion.

I was sweating, I didn't know whether to call it a bluff, but there was something purely sinister about him, that made each threat lethal.

I watched the mayors movements, his footwork anticipating his next step. He lunged at me the concentration on his face was paralyzing.

He wasn't going to miss this time, I could feel the hands of death touching me.

A loud bang sent us both falling back.

I looked up as the doors busted open.

There stood Ed, with a shotgun, pointed straight at him, "I'd leave" he growled loading up.

The Mayor smoothed out his hair, "I'm just having a little fun" he said lightheartedly.

Ed frowned, "one wrong move, and I'll happily die in jail" he growled.

The Mayor huffed, shrugging, "It will be my pleasure to bury you" he said giving in.

I took this moment to grab the knife from him, in one swooping motion. No chances could be taken.

He winked at me before leaving, but no before turning to Ed and whispering, "you made a mistake old man, I can shut down your business without blinking, or do worse" he snarled.

Ed and I watched him walk away before he lowered his gun and hugged me.

"Thanks" I sighed giving him a long hug.

Ed had never looked so tired as he nodded.

"Figs!" I gasped worriedly.

"Leave me" he whimpered, as he looked away in shame.

I pushed Figs angrily, "what the fuck were you doing here in the first place?" I screamed.

Ed walked away letting us fight it out like men.

I kept screaming and hitting him. Sometimes love beats us like the fools we are and as my bare hands beat across his hard chest, I felt relief. Figs just took it, standing like a soldier until I stopped.

"You're so stupid! Why did you even come? I told you my work was dangerous" I cursed.

Blood dropped from Figs swollen lip as he spoke, "go to hell" he scoffed running off.

This is Figs

Authors Note:! Listen to it! It's called "Tribulation" by Matt Maeson. I hope you like it so far <3