by Stephanie Parent

They say the goddess of spring was plucking a blossom when she was nabbed, yanked beneath the earth, but here’s the truth: Persephone’s desire made that chasm yawn wide.

Even blooming is a profession you can grow weary of; even beauty becomes a burden. Even a mother’s love can twist and turn, make you boil inside till you nearly burst, till you crush the heartless petals and crack the soil.

Even darkness is a rebirth. Persephone knew this when she descended; when she went looking for jewels and fruit, deep beneath the surface, where the sun’s light could never go.

Stephanie Parent

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and a writer and reader of dark fiction.

Twitter: @SC_Parent