Salt and Mango 🥭

Inspired by Bradley's Prompt: The Same Damn Dream "Write a story or poem inspired by a recurring dream that you have had over the course of your life."

Water clings to her lashes,

heavy at the tips,

cold drops slipping into her eyes

and down her cheeks.

Her hair sticks to her neck and breasts.

The wind slips beneath it,

lifting the damp strands from her skin

before letting them fall against her again.

White salt dries across her thighs

in pale streaks left by the tide.

She drags her nails through them,

feeling the grains loosen,

falling from warm skin.

The water pulls at her ankles,

and her heart answers back.

Mango softens between her fingers,

warm from the heat.

Her teeth sink into the flesh.

Juice spills over her mouth,

thick and golden,

running down her chin,

sliding across her lips.

Sweetness coats her tongue,

drips over her fingers,

sticky between each knuckle,

pooling in the center of her palm.

Juice glistens against her skin.

She licks it from the inside of her wrist.

Her mouth stays wet with fruit.

Another bite.

More sweetness spilling over her skin.

Strands cling between her teeth.

Salt and mango melt together on her tongue.

Heavy sweetness warmed by the sea.

Night spreads over the water.

The heat thins around her skin.

It smells of coconut oil

and earth gone green beneath the rocks.

She stays where the tide keeps reaching her.

It pulls once more at her ankles.

Then only blankets tangled around her legs,

twisted warm where the water had been.

Her hair lies dry against the pillowcase.

She stays still for a moment,

waiting for the next wave to reach her

while the taste of salt fades from her mouth.