Proserpina V: A Short Story

Proserpina POV

I glance around the large room. I sat across from a man; to be more specific the man who kidnapped me and brought me here all because of those flowers. My gaze flickered towards the man for a brief second before returning to going in circles looking in each corner of the room. I heard a noise and looked up. The table was covered in food. The delicious aroma reached my nose with a gentle caress making me relies I was quite hungry. “You may eat, if you want,” the man said staring at me. I looked at the food and my stomach growled notifying me of its hunger. One bite couldn’t hurt could it? There was no harm in just one bite. I reached for a pastry, it smelled faintly of a fruit that I couldn’t quite place. I take a small bite

I no longer try to think how to escape and talk with him regularly like how I was today during dinner. I was in middle of a sentence when I heard shouting. “I know he took her. Where is she,” I heard a mysterious voice shouted getting closer with each word. That voice sounded so familiar. No it can’t be, it sounded like my mother. I barely completed the thought before she appeared in the door and ran towards me. She wrapped her arms around me shaking from her sobs. She puled away and smiled at me. I was in shock. “Come one we are going home,” my mother said grabbing my arm. “She can’t,” Pluto said, I had finally began addressing him by his name instead of just the man. “And why not,” my mother demanded glaring at him. I was wondering the same thing. “She ate pomegranate seeds,” he said as if it was that clear. My mother looked horrified and the looked at me. “How demanded,” mother looked horrified and the looked at me. “How many,” she demanded her nails digging into my arms a panicked look in her eyes. “I don’t know. Why does this matter,” I asked fear creeping in. Why did it matter if I ate pomegranate seeds? “Six,” interjected Pluto his arms crossed staring at my mother. She looked slightly alarmed. “You can’t keep her,” she growled pure fury flashing in her eyes. They stared at each other tension building. “Wait. Compromise, I spend half the year here and the other half on the surface,” I said in a desperate attempt in defusing the situation. “No,” they both shouted simultaneously. “It is the only option that is fair,” I said. They both stared and then agreed. I now spend six months with Pluto, the surfacing plants dying and the weather being colder and the other six with my mother, when temperatures would rise and plants came into