Earthly Desires

Parlassa Part 5

Parlassa leaned over the balcony, the windswept ravine stretching endlessly below her. She balanced on the edge of the precipice, icy gusts tearing at her naked body, and let her eyes settle on a single dead tree, its twisted branches clawing at the blood-red sky.

A sudden crack split the air. She looked up just in time to see a brilliant orange star streaking toward her. Her heart leapt—but when she blinked, it was gone, vanishing as if it had never existed.

Shivering, she turned back toward the apartment. The first flakes of snow drifted down, cold and delicate against her onyx skin, leaving fleeting traces before melting away. The wind howled around her, and for a moment, the world felt impossibly vast—and entirely alive.