This Is My Exodus

Chapter 1

"Come ooonnn," the fruit whined. "Come on! You want to."

"You sound like a manipulative, horny man," she stated, her nose turned up in disgust. "Back off."

A plant shoved its misshapen, patterned leaf in her face. It demanded, "Eat meeee! Oh, why won't you eat me?! Eat me now! Now! Now! Now!"

She flinched and took a step back, nearly tripping over her own heel.

"Fine!" She finally gave in, rolling her eyes at the bizarre request. "You really want to be eaten. It's weird. But I guess it doesn't matter. You're not real. I'm barely real. Guess it doesn't matter what I eat."

She extended her hand and made contact with one of the fruit pieces, experiencing an unusual and fuzzy texture that sent tingles cascading down her arm. With a firm grip, her fingers encircled it and pulled.

With a pop, the fruit disconnected from the tree. She held it up with her hand to look it over, inspecting it, trying to guess what it would taste like.

"Here goes...Let's get this over with."

She brought the fruit to her mouth and dug her teeth into the skin. It made an odd sound like she bit into something filled entirely with fluid. She wouldn't be surprised if it were filled with water given the fact that she didn't taste anything.

A cool sensation coursed along her tongue and dribbled down her chin, but she couldn't quite place the texture. Irritated by the feeling, she rubbed her chin with the back of her hand and took another bite.

The distorted fruits on the vines danced as the plant shook them off one by one. "I taste lovely, right? Have some more!"

The way the fruits fell wasn't possible. Some got stuck like they were glitched in the air. Others spun fast and slow in place.

"It is quite far from lovely. Nonetheless, I will grace you with my time."

She reached out to pluck one out of the air. When she touched it, her skin took on a similar, distorted look. She brought the fruit to her lips once more, but before she had a chance to take a bite, she got interrupted by a disembodied voice. Her lips froze on the fruit's pixel-esque peel.

"Take my advice. I wouldn't continue doing that if I were you." Based on the tone, it appeared to be the voice of a male.

His pitch sounded distant yet near, causing strange vibrations in the vines. None of it seemed physically possible.

No.

This entire situation was nothing more than sheer absurdity. The plants and fruits began to laugh, and their guffaws echoed.

Without turning around to look at him, she bit down on the fruit she was holding. After she chewed up the bite, she spoke, still not looking at him.

"I frankly don't care." She shrugged as she dusted off the misshapen pear. "It's a dream."

That fruit, however, had a distinctiveness that set it apart from the others. She knew this immediately as her head began to experience the sensation of liquid filling up once more. This time, the liquid sloshed around.

"Woah..." Her feet stumbled around awkwardly. "Am I getting high? Is this what it feels like? That's weird. Can you get high in dreams? Apparently. It has to be possible, because–"

Everything around her was spinning. Spinning. Spinning.

This is ridiculous. Not even my dreams are working in my favor!

Crooked pinwheels obscured her vision as they formed like a merry-go-round. The pinwheels wore tap dancing shoes. They jeered at her and they twisted into a damaged boot.