(set a couple years before ASPEN Part I) (Prose)
"How would you fake your own death?" Rain asked while shoving their face with green grapes.
"Hmm..." Lia looked at the spotted cafeteria ceiling tiles while she thought. "I would probably rent a boat and then sink it. That way people would be aware of my disappearance quickly, but they could not easily search the ocean for me."
"I like that!" Rain responded in glee. "What about you, Aspen?"
"I would dig up a grave of a person who matched my description. Then I would stage a suicide by car accident with the body in the driver's seat. The body would then be too crushed and burned to be recognizable. My credentials would of course be in the car as well, so there is no need for the authorities to check the dental records of the body. The most difficult bit is disappearing." Aspen looked at Rain and Lia's incredulous faces.
"What?" Aspen asked.
"Well...you must have thought about this a lot" Lia muttered with a concerned smile.
"A lot?!" Rain burst out laughing. "You didn't even hesitate! It almost sounds like we will be down a friend soon! Pease write to us or something, to make sure you are actually alive." Rain was laughing so hard that there were grapes tumbling and rolling in every direction.
"I guess I have thought about it a lot" Aspen blushed. "I just want to be away from it all. Away from a consumerist world ruled by men."
"Amen!" Rain managed to choke out through their laughter.
"Stop laughing. Come on. Rain, you still haven't answered your own question" Lia said from the floor, she was picking up the grape shrapnel.
"I don't know my answer" Rain answered matter-of-fact like. "The question was for you two, that is why I asked it."
"Wait, you're going to laugh in my face about my answer, but not even answer the question for yourself?" Aspen asked amused.
"Yep" Rain put on their lavender headphones.
Both amused and annoyed, Aspen and Lia locked eyes and then looked back at Rain. Lia was still holding handfuls of dusty grapes.
YOU ARE READING
ASPEN part I
PoetryThis Epic Poem is about the pandemic as much as it is about Aspen. It focuses on her experience of being sent home from college exacerbating her anxiety and depression. It does not help that she has a creature who latched onto her when she was born.
