Art by Arantza Sestayo.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Sissy Pantelis

Heavenly!

 

 

“Now, darling, look what I’ve got for you!”

 

“Oh, my!!!” Liz had bought moon mushrooms to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Unbelievable! “Why, love, this must have cost a fortune!”

 

It had, indeed, Liz thought while her beloved Ann discreetly swept tears of emotion running from her eyes. The mushrooms were the genuine variety cultivated by the Moon Labs. But the Conilium, the stimulant she had injected into the mushrooms, was even more expensive and hard to get. Liz had to use illegal means so as not to arouse suspicions.

 

And the price of the mini-teleporter she had used to switch Ann’s pills with placebos, was even more outrageous, but it was all worth it: without the pills, the Conilium was bound to cause an epilepsy crisis with Ann. This oppressing demon Liz had married and supported so many years, would spend a few days in a hospital. Liz would find an excuse to leave for some beautiful island where she would have a wonderful time without Ann constantly bossing her around.

 

“Nothing is too good for you, darling”, Liz said lovingly. Delighted, Ann kissed her softly on the mouth.  

 

“I also have something for you, my love.” The demon that was Liz’s wife gave a lovely smile while handing Liz a box. “Here, your favorite chocolates. I had them ordered especially for you, with a sugar substitute that does not alter their taste.”

 

“How kind! Why, darling, you are so, so sweet!” Feigning emotion, Liz squinted at the box Ann had given her, closely examining it to see if there was any catch in there. Apparently, everything was fine, though. The box was hermetically sealed with an official inscription certifying its contain was sugar free. It all seemed fine. What the Hell…

 

“Thank you, darling,” Liz said, and they kissed again.

 

Stroking Liz’s long hair, Ann stared at her with loving eyes. Fine. Liz had bought it, she thought relieved. Putting sugared chocolates in a genuine certified box for sugar-free products had been quite hard, but not half as tricky as the part where Ann had to fiddle with Liz’s medical data on her personal mini-computer. Her daily doses of medication were meticulously adapted to Liz’s sugar levels, accurately assessed by this computer, based on nanotechnology and other complicated high-tech stuff.

 

Messing up the results for more than ten days, had been hell for Ann. She had to do this hacking part completely alone even though she was not good with computers. But it had worked!

 

Liz could not resist chocolates. She would gulp all the contain of the box and her sugar would be a mess. Liz’s gluttony would cost her at least a few days in hospital.

 

Ann would be alone at her wonderful home, where she could at last enjoy herself without Liz constantly complaining about everything. Ann was impressed with the moon mushrooms, though. Liz had not made such a gesture for her in a longtime – this sudden kindness was rather suspicious.

 

“Have a few mushrooms too, my love.”  Smiling, Ann almost stuffed two or three into Liz’s mouth.

 

“And you must definitely have one or two chocolates too,” Liz said in a sensual voice. “They are sugar-free, so they won’t ruin your diet. Not that you need it,” Liz added admiringly and in this she was sincere. That bitch Ann was still superb; even younger women could hardly hold a candle to her.

 

“Hey – what’s going on? I feel so…weird!” All of a sudden, Liz was so filled with desire for her wife that she could barely keep her self-control.

 

“S…So do I!” Ann said in a voice shivering with desire. “Wh… What did you put in those mushrooms?”

 

“I’d rather thought it was something in the chocolates,” Liz replied. “Oh – never mind! Who cares?”

 

They were both excited like animals. They did not even bother going to their bedroom; they rolled on the living-room floor and had sex. It was magic, it was divine! The Imperial Fireworks all together were but mere toys compared to the flame of their passion; the most sensual heroes of The Arabian Nights would be put to shame by their uncontrollable lust.

 

They went on all night, without stop.

 

In the morning they were both found dead.

 

*

 

The coroner shook his head: “The association of some neurostimulant they’ve put in the mushrooms and a conservative in those chocolates caused a powerful sexual desire. They made love like beasts... All the excitement caused a rupture of an aneurysm in the brain of Ann B. And the second patient, Liz D.  had a heart attack.”

 

“Why did the two ladies need stimulants? Apparently, they desired each other naturally.” The self-learning robot that assisted the coroner was inquisitive in order to improve its program.

 

“I have no clue,” shrugged the coroner. “It’s hard to figure out what is going on in the mind of some people. What I can tell you by watching them is that they were probably no angels, but they definitely had a heavenly death!”

 

 

 

A collection of Sissy Pantelis' short fiction is forthcoming from Hammer & Anvil Books this summer. She writes From Greece.