A Certain Kind of Cleanse

In my fantasy, my ex and I are wrestling in pudding, or Jell-O, or applesauce. We sprint towards each other, tackle—aim below the knees, claw and pull and punch and kick, all without being the type capable of leaving scars. We release aggression that’s been simmering like a bare shoulder in July heat. We scream our how the fuck could you’s and our I should’ve knowns while slipping and sliding and licking the sweet taste of sugar off of fused skin.

When it’s all over, we rinse in separate showers and walk in opposite directions. It is serene. This sloppy dance has cleansed us.

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Lindsay Haber teaches in the First-Year Writing Program at Emerson College. She has work forthcoming in The Normal School and Booth. Her writing has appeared in Print Oriented Bastards, FiveontheFifth, Gambling the Aisle, and 365 Tomorrows. Her story ‘Clean’ was awarded second runner-up for Folio Magazine Editor’s Prize and appeared in their Spring 2017 issue. She is thrilled to be a 2016 nominee for the Pushcart Prize. She is a Jewish woman, lover of the outdoors, canine enthusiast, and current Boston dweller, trying to figure out this thing we all call life.