The Story Corner

I reach out my hand, swiping my fingers under the water, testing the temperature. It's perfect - that sweet spot between warmth and heat that coaxes tension from muscles and invites release. I take a step forward, and let the droplets engulf me. They tap against my skin like a thousand tiny fingers, drumming a soothing rhythm that I melt into easily. I turn, slowly, deliberately, until my back meets the full force of the stream. I tilt my head back, so the water soaks through to my scalp, cascades over my hair and trickles down my spine, like it knows the way. A shiver runs through me, a tingle that spreads, sparking every nerve in its path. My skin prickles as goosebumps form, a feeling I embrace with every part of me. A soft moan escapes my lips with appreciation as I surrender to the warmth.

There is a room in every heart, one that cannot be seen or touched, but its presence is undeniable. It is a space where things come and go - some of them will linger, others will leave, often without warning. The room changes over time, its contents are ever-shifting, but there are gaps, spaces where something is always missing. For years, the room had been left undisturbed. The door was quietly shut, and the walls were familiar, comforting even. The room was full in a way that made sense.  But then, unexpectedly, there was a knock at the door. It was tentative, unsure. Something was there. The door was cracked open and all of a sudden, there was a flash of light, streaming through the gap, a warm hand reaching in. The room was coming to life again. 

It only takes one. Isn't that funny? Just one moment. One sip, one look, one bite and suddenly... the surge. Before you know it, you're free-falling. It's impossible to stop once it's started and after you've been captured, it feels like you'll never get away. Not that you want to - at least, not at first. One more, one more, one more... You lose yourself in the frenzy, it consumes you until time has no meaning and you're long past saving. You don't want to be saved. Not yet. Quiet murmurs in the back of your mind, questioning how this has happened again. Especially after last time, which you swore would be the very last time. Except it doesn't seem there will ever  be a last time. You're always going to come back for more. The doubt is always drowned out with well-rehearsed execution. It will return, it always does, but it doesn't matter now. Nothing else does. Only this. You're in deep, far too deep and... you like it. You want it so m...