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REYES

REYES, Larissa Maia G.

I – BA Creative Writing

ENG 11 THU

Bonus Activities

21 December 2020

Bonus Activity, Module 5 (Monstrous Myths: Womanhood in Ōba Minako’s “The Smile of a

Mountain Witch”)

WARNINGS: violence, mild gore

For You are Mine

Maria hummed as she moved around the kitchen with practiced grace, stirring the pot of

soup leisurely before turning away to check on the rice. Pleased with how it was coming along, she

pulled out a spoon from the canister by the plates to taste the soup. It was… alright, she supposed.

She has never been able to tell if her own cooking was delicious, but it would have to do. 

It was currently ten past nine in the evening, and Michael was running late. For a brief

moment, she allows herself to frown before forcing herself to don the gentle smile he preferred

from her. She didn’t want him to worry about anything; after all, this night was about him.
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Reaching into the pocket of her apron, she checks the last text message he sent her from two

hours ago, something about him having to work overtime and not to wait up for him. She can

already hear the argument they’ll have once he comes home and finds out that not only did she wait

for him to arrive but also prepared dinner for him, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind. She

hadn’t seen him in so long after all, and they had some very important matters to discuss.

She senses his presence before she hears his footsteps. His thoughts were always loud, so

loud she could hear them from two streets away. It had always annoyed her, but there was nothing

she could do about it. Oh, imagine if she had complained to him about it! She could already imagine

his ridiculing laugh and that patronizing look on his face. No, no… there was no point to it. Instead,

she let his thoughts wash over her own, vague thoughts gradually becoming coherent sentences as

he nears their doorstep. A sense of excitement floods through her veins as she turns off the stove

and sprinkles one final ingredient over the bubbling surface of the soup. Wiping her hands on her

apron, she hurriedly rips it off of her, desperately smoothing out her hair and checking her

appearance in the mirror by the dining table as she practically runs to the door.

Opening the door with a wide smile, Maria opens her mouth to speak—

God, she’s still awake? Can’t she follow simple instructions?

Grin faltering for a millisecond, she greeted him. “Welcome home, Michael! I missed you.”

Michael only smiled weakly, nodding as he brushed past her. Not for the first time, she

wished she wasn’t born with the ability to read thoughts.

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She’s too loud.

Turning away from him to shut the door properly, she clenched her jaw before plastering a

smile back on her face as she followed him into the living room, watching as he loosened his tie and

shrugged off his jacket. Michael was a handsome man, that much was clear. He easily towered over

her with his height, and his broad shoulders only added to his appeal.

His hair was not in its usual slicked back style tonight, Maria noted. Strange. He always puts

effort into his appearance, and she was witness to the fifteen minutes he had spent in front of the

mirror this morning, carefully brushing back stray strands. He wouldn’t be caught dead looking so…

disheveled. 

His thoughts were a chaotic mess, but if Maria concentrated hard enough, she could make

out the feel of a woman’s hot breath as he laved his tongue over her skin, sucking and biting. He

planned on calling her again tomorrow evening for a few drinks, and Michael had no idea Maria

could hear the exact lie he was going to tell her to keep him off his back for the next week or so,

already thinking about the probability that she would get suspicious about the third business trip

he’d taken in two months.

“Michael,” she called out softly, voice barely above a whisper. He stiffens before turning to

face her. He raises an eyebrow in lieu of a reply. 

“Have some soup before you take a shower. It’ll be good for you.”

Michael sighed deeply. “Listen, I’m really tired and I—”

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“Please?” She asked sweetly, masking the seething rage in her veins. “We haven’t spent time

with each other in a while, and I worry for you…”

She could see the gears turning in that beautiful head of his.

I don’t want to spend time with her. I want to get the hell out of this house. A pause. I could use

this to my advantage, though… I’ll be nice to her for the next few days just so she doesn’t get suspicious

when I have to leave again in two days.

“Alright, I’ll have some soup,” he replied nonchalantly. “What is it by the way?”

Maria squealed, obviously delighted. “It’s mushroom soup, your favorite! Go take a seat, I’ll

get everything ready for you.”

That was easy, he thought. Maria’s eye twitched. 

His thoughts drifted back to that beautiful unknown woman he was with before coming

home, and it took everything in Maria to not pour the bowl of soup she was holding all over her

head. Patience, Maria thought to herself as she sets it down before him with a smile on her face.

She watched him as he brought the first spoonful of soup to his lips, smiling awkwardly at

her once he realized that she was looking at him intently. Weird. Is she that eager about soup?
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Neither of them said anything as Michael continued to eat the soup slowly, although Maria

could sense the growing confusion in him. She felt giddy as she watched him slowly eat all of the

soup, feeling almost impatient as she waited for the effects to hit.

It isn’t until his bowl was empty did he bother asking. “The soup was nice, but it tasted a bit

strange… did you try out a new recipe or something?”

Maria only shook her head. “Did you find it bitter?”

He froze.

“It’s Rohypnol,” Maria continued helpfully, her smile growing as she watched his eyes

widen. There were no coherent thoughts coming from him, just an undeniable wave of panic and

fear. How delicious. “It’s not important though! I actually have something to talk to you about…”

“No, no… what did you—why would you—!”

He struggled to rise from his seat, knees buckling as he held onto the table for support.

Maria giggled as his eyes began to lose focus, stepping past him and into her kitchen to pick up her

favorite kitchen knife. 

When she turned back to face him, he was still on the floor, desperately trying to stand up. It

was almost adorable to watch. Humming, Maria swiftly walked back to him and used her foot to

push him onto his back before straddling him. 

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His eyes widened further if that were possible, and she relished in the fear that swam in

those dark eyes she had loved so much. Holding the knife just over his throat, he froze completely,

whispering nonsensical words and prayers as he begged her to let him go. 

She merely nodded, a pleasant smile on her face as she pressed the knife further into his

skin. “We don’t have much time until you fall asleep, so be a good boy and answer this for me,

alright?”

He nodded frantically and she used her free hand to pat his cheek gently. “There, there… I

just wanted to know who you’ve been fucking behind my back is all,” she said soothingly, and

almost immediately, Michael started shaking his head vigorously. 

“Oh?” Maria’s eyebrow raised slightly. “So you weren’t planning on lying to me about having

a business trip in two days just so you could cheat on me again?”

Panic. Sweet, delicious, and all-consuming panic. He began to shake his head once more,

ready to plead his innocence until—

She placed both hands over his collarbones, the knife’s metal hilt digging into his skin and

thrust downwards with a sickening crack. Michael howled in pain, and she refused to remove her

hands from the area until he was sobbing beneath her.

After seconds, years, eternities, or however long it had been, Maria finally pulled away.

Michael was still very much alive, but also in extreme pain. He was on the verge of passing out, but
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she still wanted to have some fun with him before she tied him up in the basement. Grabbing his

jaw, she forced him to meet her gaze as she smiled.

“Now, would you like to try answering that again, my love?” 

Bonus Activity, Module 8 (Coming of Age during Times of Conflict: Marjane Satrapi’s

Persepolis Volume I: The Story of Childhood)