"It All Started" by Jennifer Van Buren I. It all started when the orange paintstick bled into spilled water. His ink stained thumbnail digging under her tight tendons, playing slippery strings of a silent cello. Encore fingers curl under the push on marionette ligament, following his lead in a bone-pulling-bone slow dance grip. II. It all started with a broken water glass and a loose wire. Blue veins collapse as he drains blood with a wide thumb push through one-way valves before teasing apart striated muscle and rolling pointed tongue over nerve fibers. Axons play hot potato with blinding white signals cerebrum scrambles for an explanation. She wakes to the taste of copper in her mouth, fingers waiting for direction. About the Author: Jennifer lives in Texas hill country with her husband and two sons. She is editor of the web-based journal, Mannequin Envy and more of her work can be found at mannequinenvy.wordpress.com. Email: jkvanburen@gmail.com