No Rain

"Never say never" said the blind man to the watermelon. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." he carried on. "What goes up, must come down" he tried. "In the kingdom of the blind, the watermelon is king" he chuckled to himself.

Sitting in a hole in the ground, John had been talking to the same watermelon for well over a year. Well he hoped it was the same watermelon, or it could be quite an embarrasing situation, he crazily mumbled to himself. "You are the same watermelon aren't you?" he asked his "friend" as he gingerly stroked it's surface. "I mean, you haven't been playing some sorta shell game with me have you?".

"Shut up old man" said the watermelon "You're off your rocker. Do you think there are two watermelons in the world who would put up listening to your nonsense day and night without caving in your skull?"

"No" John said quietly "I suppose not. Well where were we...oh yes...a bird in the hand is worth two in the..."

"We've done that one John." said the watermelon gruffly

"Well yes, maybe, but I wanted to be thorough...you said you wanted to know everything I know, so I must be thorou..."

"Not the fucking platitudes John" said the watermelon, "No one needs to hear those. You know something, and I want to know what it is. You're wasting my fucking time here John, I think it's time we moved on a bit"

"No please" begged John, suddenly and desperately "I'll tell you everything. Please! I don't know anything worth knowing, I've been trying...please, please just let me finish." John was trembling with fear as he reached out to stroke his old "friend".

"It's been over a year John. How long do you think I can wait? You need to tell me what you know now" the watermelon said, more forcefully than John had heard in several months.

"I'm trying, I really am. I've been telling you everything. If you told me what you wanted to know then maybe I could think of it, but you won't so I can't. Please be patient, I'll get there in the end, I must do. I've almost worn out my voice I've told you so much, but I'm sure with a bit more time we'll get there" John said in a small, hopeful yet afraid voice. He patted the watermelon on the "cheek" in what he hoped was a friendly gesture.

"NO! NO MORE WAITING! NOW JOHN! TELL ME NOW" the watermelon exploded, the seeds and flesh splashing all over John's face and hand, the sweet juice hitting his lips and dripping off his brow. "Enough of these fucking games" the watermelon continued. A slab of pain his John's foot as an invisible hammer smashed down on him.

"Where is the girl John" the watermelon's disembodied voice said to him "Where is Emily?"

"I don't know anyone called Emily" said John surprised and confused. The watermelon juice was in his mouth, a sweet and delicious flavour like he hadn't experienced in over a year. It clouded his senses far more than the pain in his foot, or the surprising "death" of his only companion this past year.

"You know her John! I saw you with her. Talking and laughing. Smiling. You're not smiling now though John are you, so why don't you be a good wacko and tell me where she is". The watermelons voice was calm but filled with threat.

"When did you...I mean who...you do know I'm blind right? I'm not mad, I'm just blind. I mean...sure I thought the watermelon was a person to start with, but then you stood behind it and spoke, so what was I supposed to think? And when I found out...well I was just lonely by then and you kept asking questions. I thought I was....I knew I was going to die here so I thought I'd enjoy myself what little I could before then. And the watermelon was a good listener!" said John, instantly regretting the levity of the last part.

"WHERE IS THE GIRL?" roared the watermelon as a huge hand battered John across the face. A bruise was sure to rise from this, but John new it was unlikely that he would.

"I might have talked to a girl called Emily at some point, but I didn't know her name. I've never met an Emily that I know of. And I'm blind, so where she, or anyone went, I have no idea. She could be in this room for all I know." John said flatly. He probably would have known if there had been a girl in the room though - he had dreamt about their smell often enough in the last year that he could be fairly sure of that.

"This isn't a room, it's a grave. Bye John." the watermelon voice said strangely melancholic. Footsteps receded in the soft mud and a door closed awkwardly in the distance. A buzzing sound ceased, and John assumed he was in the dark. And alone.

"So this is it I suppose" said John to the smashed watermelon. "I wouldn't have told you were she was even if I had known. Smelt like cherry blossoms she did".