Mark Mark Fruit Novels & Stories

“Shouldn't you be the one getting married instead? Since you've been the one receiving all the good favors in this family. Big Brother.” “Why, you whore.” Slap. The sound of that slap on his cheek echoed in the room. A red mark visible on William's cheek. His mouth tasted like metal. The painful sting made the tears burst out. “Oh, mom! You shouldn't leave any mark where it'll be visible,” Alex said with his hand on his mouth but it couldn't hide the huge grin on his face. “Don't worry," A woman standing beside William said, cleaning her hand with a handkerchief taken from her gown’s pocket. “It will be gone before the wedding.”

Stamped on the front: the crescent and three slashes. My stomach tightened. That mark is pack ink. It doesn’t belong in human soil. “That’s not supposed to be here,” I said, and I meant it in every way. A twig snapped behind the fence line, too close. A voice drifted over, amused. “Found something, witness?”

I’d never been much for wearing a lot of makeup, just mascara and if I felt I needed something extra, then a bright red lipstick. Mark had been late, holding one single white rose, and looking sexy in a dark blue shirt and black, tight jeans. The blue had made his eyes look like the ocean on a clear, sunny day, his skin looked tanned, and his smile was contagious. We had talked for hours before remembering to eat and we had seen each other every day since that night. ‘You okay babe?’ I jump before feeling Mark’s arms caressing me from behind, and I lean into his heat and smell of oakmoss, bergamot and something else...

We barely got visitors in the house. “I’ll go get the door.” Dad said, practically jumping out of his seat before I could even think of moving a muscle. “Welcome Elders. Come in.” I heard him say from the door. Elders? I casually turned my neck to see, my blood freezing when my eyes landed on a mark I knew all too well. The steak suddenly soured in my mouth, and my stomach churned with acid. I tightened my jaw, trying to control the puke that threatened to escape.

I replied hoping he does not ask further and it's just like he's reading my mind “Ohh okay” He muttered and I nodded “So about the answer?” “The wine is not made up of just one fruit” I said and his eyes widened, “How did you know that?” “Because I could inhale the scents of multiple fruits from it and the first fruit I discovered was lime that gave it a sour taste, then star fruit to suite the lime sour taste, it has blueberries too, it has cherries, peach and dragon fruits” These are the ones I could detect

Beach campfires interested me. “Lia, what makes you so excited down there?” Mark asked. Ivor and Mark had sat down, there were three glasses of wine and a plate of fruit on the small table. “The view of the beach and campfire,” I answered Mark and laughed. I sat down at the empty seat, which was in the middle of their seat, and sipped a glass of wine. “What kind of champagne do you guess it is?” Mark asked. He held a glass of champagne in his left hand, his right hand plucked the grapes from the bunch and put them in his mouth.

Mark brought the store goods out and it turned out to be bags of popcorn, chips, chocolates, and a large bottle of juice. I let out a loud laugh. “What are you planning to do with all this?” He shrugged, “I am not like dad, Kate. I am quite clueless when it comes to things. But trust that all of this is genuinely from a place of love. Let me know if you need anything else. You don’t have to talk to me. Just enjoy the ambiance and let your heart out.” A small smile tugged at my lips. “This is so sweet of you, Mark. But I can’t help but ask. Is the beach your favorite place? Your last exhibition was held here too.”

He just stayed there, crouched on the ground, watching me leave. I walked a long distance before glancing over my shoulder. He was still there, like an abandoned child clutching the brooch in his fist. Sunlight fell over him, but it only made him look more desolate. When I returned to the apartment, Mark was making coffee. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the strawberries. “You ran into him?” “Yeah.” I placed the strawberries on the table, picked one up, and ate it. The sweetness felt almost cloying. “It’s over.”

Lillianna cried out unable to help herself. He just imprinted his initials onto her body… He pressed it so hard holding her arm hard so she could not go anywhere. He kept it pressed for a few minutes before he pulled it off her. She was in tears. AJ assessed the result before he turned her around roughly and showed the mark to Tristan. “What does that say?” He asked. “It says AJ… AJ… She is now marked. I have branded her as my own. Is that enough for you to understand that she belongs to me!”

Wendy was also living her best life with a loving boyfriend and the career of her dreams. But like all good things, they were all bound to end. One day, Mark brought home a strange fruit. He told Wendy that he found it in the bag of apples that he bought from the market. It must’ve been misplaced by the vendor somehow. The fruit was oddly-shaped, like a longer version of an apple. Only, it was thinner. Its color also resembled an apple, red and juicy. Thinking that it must’ve been a coincidental deformation, Mark and Wendy shrugged it off. After washing the apples, Mark took a bite of the strange fruit.