Alraune Mandragora

Then, the orgasm fading from her, she felt as if her body was floating back to the ground. The dark world she found herself in spun around her. Peace came over her, and she slept for hours before waking again.

When she awoke, the cave was filled with the smoke from the candle finally burning out. She sat up. How had she come to be in the middle of the floor? She must have been sleepwalking, she supposed. She was naked, her dress having been flung aside a few feet away. Her body was moist, sticky, as if she had been sweating profusely. She decided that she'd had a nightmare after falling asleep in the cave. She dressed, fetched up the candle and her book and made for the world above.

Once out among the fresh air and trees, Marna turned to go. Something held her there though, near the hole to her new favorite reading spot. Should she cover the hole? What if someone else found the cave and had it dug out? Some would probably see it as a danger, or a home for pests. Marna found some tree limbs and placed them over the hole. She then put a few armloads of leaves over the lattice of sticks. "There." She declared aloud. "No one will invade my special hole!"

Quite satisfied, Marna made her way home. As she walked, she wondered why she wasn't in the least bit hungry, even though she'd barely had anything for breakfast and had slept right through lunch. Oh well, dinner was a few hours away, she would be hungry by then.

Later, bathing in the big clawfoot tub, Marna read her new book. She couldn't find where she left off before falling asleep earlier, so she just started at chapter one. One of the character descriptions reminded her of the sweet ice salesman who had been in her dreams since she saw him. She dropped the book to the floor as deja vu struck her. She stood suddenly from the tub, her fair skin turned bright pink by the hot water. Turning towards the lace curtained window, she ripped the curtain aside. Staring out into the darkness beyond the glass, in the direction she knew the forest lay. It was as if someone had called to her. All she saw was blackness and her own distorted reflection. In the old warped glass she looked like some kind of monster standing there in the tub. She dropped the curtain and sank back below the bubbles, feeling silly for standing in the window like that.

The next day she slept in again, and her parents laughed at her foggy-headed disposition at breakfast that morning. She'd missed her pre-breakfast chores, but they understood. She was a growing girl, and needed her beauty sleep.

Marna poured a cup of coffee, which now looked to be a habit for the girl. "You're gonna stunt your growth with that stuff, little lady." Her father teased.

But Marna grew.