Muther-'effin ziggylong, dude. He is honestly one of the best writers I have ever seen. Period. His book is about weed, forests, deer, paintings, jobs, abs, weed, weed and did I mention weed? I feel ashamed calling my own garbage trippy. Honestly. If you take one thing away from this book, take away this. "READ KING OF THE WOODS". Immediately.

And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid, But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.

-Snake, D.H. Lawrence

I opened my eyes.

The thing was itself and not what I thought it was.

It was simply the man again. The Beardy Man.

And he was surrounded by daisies. And he wanted to kill me. He was big. About as big as one of the buildings surrounding him. His paunch flapped with every breath. His beard was wet with blood and pollen. His eyes were bloodshot, like they always were. The scent of stale tobacco clung to him, that perfume I could taste the last time I met him. If it really was him.

And he was standing above me, his fists extended, ready to pounce.

I looked around, to see if there were any cats in the vicinity.

Nothing. Only me, a rotting cat's tail in my hand and my violator, as big as a building.

He pounced, his hands outstretched.

I dodged.

His fists crashed into the road I had just barely skidded away from. Trees were pummelled into nothingness. Asphalt crunched around me, adding to the scrapes the lined my face and arms. Dust floated like a mushroom cloud in his wake.

He was blinded now, perhaps by pollen. And he was slow to begin with.

I looked around for a place to hide.

There was a half shattered crust of a little building, a little ways off.

I crouched as low as I could, my eyes fixed on it.

I made a run for it.

I was about halfway there, when the pall of pollen around his face he cleared. He saw me.

The two of us stared at each other for a while. Then his arms began that slow journey toward me.

I rolled towards him, again just barely missing his gigantic fists by a hair's breadth.

I ran then, while he was still confused and stunned.

And I made it. I scurried, past the rocks and debris still floating around me, trying to shield my eyes from the dust. I closed my eyes. I waited.

I could feel my heart again. Hammering in my chest like a tribal drum. That same pattern, just like last time. Same monster, different city.

(and she walked out too scared too ashamed to speak no she eye was thrown out most unceremoniously the blood still hadn't dried and she wanted to go to the bathroom and somehow try to get away from the tepid madness of everything it wasn't fair to anybody else these tears weren't fair and the pulse pulse pulse of her heart was frightening her it had never gone that way before and she was ferocious or at least her heart was and)

And I peeped through the window.

He was still there, big, fat and dumb, his eyes roving the blasted landscape, looking for me.

"Young love..."

I turned around.

Who else?

"You've got to help me!" I told her.

"You're a lover, darling. Lovers fight their own battles. They pull their own triggers. They use their own swords-

"But where did it come from? How can I escape or whatever?" I said to Death.

"It can be explained away with pseudo-science if you want." Death told me. "That could certainly work. But you're a lover. You believe in magic. And only love will win in the end."

I spun around, my eyes back to the window.

He still did not know where I was.

"The silent treatment? Sure. No problem. But remember, darling. Only love will win in the end."

I could not resist.

I turned around.

No trace of Death.

Which was a good sign for me. I liked being alive (then).

I turned back, but her words rung in my head like the clamour of a bell. Only love will win in the end.

I remembered. The jungle gym.

I peeked back around, and past the dust and the rage, there it was. The rusted green, worn by many hands. My sleeveless dress.

My lover for all of five days.

Only love will win in the end.

I looked around me, found a large enough rock, and hurled it through the window.

I ran, before the slow sweep of his eyes caught me.

I circled around him, as he slowly bent to pick through the shards of glass to find me.

I made another run for it, the jungle gym getting a bit more clearer with each pounding step.

I made it.

I screamed.

Karim was sitting there. An absurd little sadhu yet again. He seemed happy to see me. He held on to a little flower. A daisy.

"No. Not you."

"I'm sorry." He said.

He was five. But he was fourteen again. Standing before me. His eyes cast down. Full of fright. Then perhaps with a coy excitement. Now with misery and penitence. Something to expiate.

"Not you."

Only love will win in the end.

He looked up at me, his flower held out.

"What...what do I need to do?"

He frowned. That old frown. That one I knew so well. I knew every crease in his face so well yet I did not recognize him.

"I need you to forgive."

"I don't need to. I forgave you then. Please, love, it wasn't your fault."

He shook his head. "Not me."

He pointed.

I turned.

The Beardy Man was advancing on me, his face lined with an inebriated yet grim purpose. Like this was something he had to do.

(and he looked down at her eye with such intensity and propose that for a second she was blinded and dazzled by it and he stunned her and and she couldn't even see in the blind dark and she tried to look around herself and take stock and she tried to focus on something else but there was nothing else only stale tobacco in the air and the pounding on the glass and her eye's lover trying to break in and the heat and everything everything everything else and and and)

"I can't, Karim. I can't do that."

"Only love will win in the end."

I closed my eyes.

I prayed.

I forgave.

Well, that was pretty hard to write. Please please please let me know what you think. If you're confused about the characters, please do ask. I think I may have been a bit too vague. Thank you fir sticking with The Queen Of Cats.