Her belly was above her, an enourmous melon on a table

Her belly was above her, an enormous melon on a table. Mellon? She could eat melon now. She could cut open the melon, drops of juice and water glistening above it and eat the whole thing. If she had a melon, if she had a knife, if she was able to walk into market and buy a melon, if she had the money.

But she was lieing in bed, tottaly motionless.

Beside her is Jack. My husband. She reminds herself. But what is a husband when her ankles are swollen, what is a husband when she is grotesqly fat-and it's his fault.

There is a beast in me.

She does not say it.

Rapunzel is chilling in bed. She can't sleep. She takes out a pen, begins to draw on her hip. Outlining stars and black heart. The pen presses hard against her skin, and the ink flows, bleeds.

She had one tattoo on her shoulder, but her Mother had taken that away. Pressed a cold, white hand on the space where the wrongs were until Rapunzel felt as though she wouldn't be able to breathe if the woman's finger's spread much further. All that was left was a pale hand mark where the tattoo had been. For sometime, it burned black with gold.

"You cannot poison yourself like this Rachel."

How shall I poison myself instead, Mother?

She does not say it.

"Husband," wife thought of saying. "Husband, fetch me the green vegetable of my sisters garden."

"But your sister is a witch," husband would say, trying not to betray the fear growing inside him.

"She prefers sorceress," the stigma of appellation and professions. For this I almost do not get married, Wife thinks.

Husband challenges, "She is your sister. Why do you not ask her?"

"Because…"

Oh Husband! Because witches cannot have babies. When they're born, they eat their way our of their Mother's womb. It is unknown weather a witches child would be a witch, were they to have them. However, there has been no known copulation of any witch. Witches do not feel passion or love, thus they will never conceive children.

Wife doesn't know if she believes is the last part, she and her sister are twins. Sister spared wife, when she ate her way out of the womb, why? Was she full on Mother's innards, or did she want to wait and see what her sister would be?

What is clear to wife, is that Witch wants a baby. The way Sister looks at Wife's pregnant belly, the snippy congratulations, wife knows there is some feeling, some love there.

So, Wife does not flaunt the enormous burden in front of her sister, nor bring up her cravings, her complaints, her plans.

"Just steal some greens from the garden Husband," Wife says.

Husband does not wish to be traipsing in a witches garden late at night. Nor does he appreciate the potency of his wife's cravings. What greens does she want? He looks across the witch's plentiful garden. He thinks he's smart to have chosen a bright moon night like this, he can see so clearly across the expanse of the witch's bounty; glowing, almost blue in the white light.

The plants all look the same, like clumps of folded leaves over one another. Grey cabbages.

The witch's cottage betrays no light, except smoke coming from a chimney. Strange...it is such a warm night.

He knew he had to act fast, if she caught him, maybe she's take mercy on her brother in law…unlikely.