by Susanne Mathies
(08/12/09)
Clustering closely. Swinging floppy leaves tickling my stalk. Cheek to cheek with Lee and Lyn, whispering.
Raindrops patter on the foliage, drip on us. We sway together, gently sucking musky sap. Lee slurps noisily, she cannot hold back. We feel her dusky red berry growing stiff, gently shaking with delight.
"You must control yourself," Lyn hisses. "You know why."
"Let me be," Lee murmurs back. "The juices are swirling in me, sloshing around my seed."
"Better stop right now! Close your stalk, don't give in."
"Can't." Lee is rocking back and forth, moaning. "Not after this long drought, not now."
Lyn and I have to put an end to this. We press our brittle skin against hers, squeezing her gently, stopping her from gulping down more fluid. She cries out in frustration, trying to break free. But we are holding her tight.
"Did you see what happened to the twins over there?"
"The cheeky ones, who were always rubbing against each other to make rude
noises at the girls?"
How like Lee to notice all the naughty berries. "Yes, those two, Lick and Lap,
they were the first to start swilling themselves after the rain started."
"Oh, I love these wicked boys!" Lee is getting excited again.
"Better look at them now," Lyn says dryly.
Lick and Lap are trying to hide beneath their leaves, but we swing our
bodies on the twig to peep around their shelter.
"Oh no, please don't let this be true!" Lee's colour is fading a little,
and her tiny oval body is giving back most of the sap she drank
so greedily earlier. Lyn and I cuddle each other for comfort.
This is not a pretty sight: Lick's rounded bumpy skin is split from top
to bottom, and his translucent flesh is swelling out of his body.
His brother Lap is even worse off; he has a big triangular tear
that has even cut his pulp, and his glossy brown seed is exposed.
"So this is what we look like inside." Lee has made a
speedy recovery, and seems to be a little ashamed of having lost
control over her berry so quickly. Lyn and I watch with horror as
she takes up her sucking routine again.
"Do you see what these boys are doing?"
It's a scandal. Lick and Lap are rolling against each other in
tight circles, squeezing each other's exposed flesh, making
squelching noises as they start dribbling their juices. Against my will,
I feel myself growing hot and itchy. I need to draw some sap,
and some more. Lick and Lap are moving faster now, and Lap's big shiny
seed starts to wobble in his watery pulp. Can't stop now. Can't can't can't...
