Heaven - ONC 2022 LONGLISTED - old version

chapter 5: dandelion

When fragmented rays of daylight found Sina, he felt as though his skull would burst. Images of his head exploding like a watermelon made him grasp and hold onto it tightly. When he rolled to the side, Sina felt the blades of grass tickle his face. Opening one eye, he came face to face with the lone dandelion who looked even more wilted than the pitiful wildflowers.

"Shiiiit," Sina groaned. "I shouldn't have given you any hootch. Tequila is people drink, not lion-flower drink."

When the dandelion failed to reply, Sina brought last night's wound to his lips and mumbled as he bit down. "I'll fix ya., little lion." Bloody drops pooled in the hollow of Sina's palm. Tipping his hand gingerly, he let the blood fall over the weed.

The green stem unfurled. The fuzzy yellow face curved towards the sky. The dandelion grew to twice its size.

Sina brought his hand to his mouth and licked. "Seriously..." he winced, "disgusting! Like whoever thought it was a grand idea to make blood taste like a can full of rusted pennies?"

Making a face, he reached down and carefully wiped vermillion stains off the weed's petals. "All better now?" Nodding to the I'm-not-a-flower-but-I-look-like-a-flower, Sina felt his head spin. "I wish there was a way to magically make this hangover go away." Thumping his heel to the ground, Sina grumbled, "You couldn't have made that one of my superpowers you cunt?"

Crawling onto all fours, Sina leaned his head against the ground. He felt the sharp tips of the grass, the soft moss battling for space, little pinch-faced flowers dying in the remnants of summer. Arching up, he cast his eyes to the trees. "I'd make a terrible flower." As he attempted to rise, Sina felt the world sway horribly. "For fuck's sake. Someone stop shaking the globe." Placing a palm to the tree to steady himself, Sina drew in a deep breath and wished he had a cigarette with him. Unzipping his backpack, he saw an unopened pack of Camels staring back. A post-it was stuck on the carton, Grabbing it, he read out loud, "You are a little shit. You now owe me three packs. Go to church once in a while. You stink of the dev–" Crumpling the note, Sina flung it away. "Pfff!"

Hoisting his backpack over his shoulder, Sina unwrapped the pack and dropped the cellophane unglamorously over the dandelion. "Cookie always says I stink of the Devil," he muttered as he popped a cigarette between lush lips. Striking a match, Sina sighed, "If only he knew." 

words: 433