Floretta (Soft-Spoken Vegetarian)

Floretta lay back in her comfy writing seat, running her hands again through her black curls. Her keyboard lay at her twitching, dark fingers, with a blank document onscreen - "Essay.odt". She'd done everything possible to procrastinate writing this: cleaning her apartment to a spotless condition; scrolling through a dozen news articles; showering and dressing herself in a white button-up shirt and red skirt, even though she was staying at home today.

Nowhere to be but here, facing her writer's block head-on. With agile keystrokes, she began typing an intro: "Why I Am Still A Vegetarian".

"With the advent of planetary snacks, it's more convenient than ever to eat meat. Stores and restaurants are lined with the civilizations, at a low cost. Is a vegetarian lifestyle still relevant in our new ecosystem?"

The writer looked over her words, and with a gulp, quickly erased "lifestyle". In its place, she wrote "vegetarian diet". With a nod, she continued typing.

"I don't want to preach, or convert anyone. But here are the personal reasons I've still kept up a diet without meat products."

Upon typing that, Floretta's mind went blank again, sweat forming on her thin, black brow. Cursed writer's block! When she was just stating facts, or showing the results of research, everything fit in place; she could piece together a simple article with no problem. She was able to distance herself from the equation. But when it came to something that touched her so closely, something that was subjective, this document was laying herself bare. It was exposing. The white space mocked her. The novelty clock above her ticked loudly. Why had she promised Elena she'd write this post? What if people thought she was self-righteous? What if her arguments had all been said before? What if history and science would laugh at those who refused to swallow millions of living people?

What if... her feelings were wrong?

*Groooan...*

Food. Eating something, Floretta decided, would help her focus. From a cabinet, she took out a snack bag from the supermarket, crinkling its corners. Her gentle fingers plucked out a tiny planet, which she brushed in her fingerprints. This one had cold, rocky regions coating its surface. With a long "aaah," she brought the orb to her wet lips, and plopped it in. Her tongue explored its intricate mountains and valleys, lathering its dust surface in an even mass of liquid. With a slow gulp, she swallowed the gobstopper-like planetoid, letting the celestial body fall into her own body.

Floretta pulled the next planetary snack out, freshly inspired to begin writing again. "First of all, populated planets may have undiscovered ecosystems and innovations. We're consuming what we could be researching." The writer plopped the miniature red world into her mouth, rolling out around her tongue.

And millions of rocky, hard-skinned humanoids screamed, seeing the monstrous taste buds approach them - lapping up the great structures that they'd known all their lives. This distant wonder's fingers, each longer in diameter than their entire homeworld of Kruzon, had already obliterated the North and South poles, remnants of the icy surfaces embedded in the whorls of her index and thumb. Massive rumbling noises sounded out merely from her cautious breaths and rising heartbeat - nervous about her deadline. A priest screamed up to the uncaring woman's spectacles, reflecting their proud landscapes: "Mercy! Please, why are you doing this? We've never harmed your kind!" Dozens prayed with him, hoping to reach her. The entire altar simply stuck to her taste buds. Those inside held to the pillars hopelessly, the ancient structure stripped from the earth with the rest of their city - like salty dusting licked off a chip.

But why was she eating them, if she said she was a vegetarian?

Food companies still had imperfections in their processing. To determine if a planet had life - whether it was "meat" or "vegetable" - they measured traces of methane and pollutants in the atmospheres. It never occurred to anyone that some tiny beings could live on other energy sources, and exhale other chemicals - like the inhabitants of Kruzon, who had achieved a limitless source of energy from crystals at their world's core. Unfortunately, the secrets of their utopian lifestyle and mindsets would be forever lost in a nervous writer's snacktime.

Floretta's tongue lazily grazed the spherical surface. She hummed happily, rattling the mouth-borne planet to its very core - practically splitting their nations with tremors and rocky avalanches. With a few more curious rolls over its bumpy texture, and a few more strokes of her keys, she swallowed it down in a whole gulp - letting it tickle her throat.

"No!"

"Why, why?"

The populace shouted in a thousand languages, as pink, pulsating throat muscles replaced their skies. Each subconscious movement tore their rocky landmasses apart; entire cities with eras of history ground against the wet, sticky surfaces. Humid gasses from her innards filled their atmosphere - smelling vaguely like broccoli and nuts. And in a terrifying freefall, millions of buildings flew off Kruzon, all of them scattering amid the growling, bubbling stomach acid. A massive splash spelled their doom - their "uninhabited" world sunk deep into the vegetarian's stagnant bowels.

*splash.*

Rubbing her tummy gently, Floretta thought for a second before continuing to type. "The production and transport of populated planet snacks releases pollution into our own atmosphere. Methods used to harvest then still aren't efficient, or sustainable." The writer's tense shoulders relaxed into her leathery seat. This was turning out a lot better than she thought; when she read her words, they looked authoritative and straightforward.

But that last snack had made her throat dry. Smacking her fingers together, the bespectacled girl fished around the bag of assorted snacks - knocking aside dusty meteors and comets - before plucking out a water planet. The seas from its surface felt cool in her hand, its wetness keeping it stuck to her index. Finding water-covered treats that fit her meat-free diet was one of Floretta's small joys. Applying pressure to its eastern and western hemispheres, she squeezed the tiny ball like a grape - playfully squirting its liquid reserves into her awaiting mouth.

This supposedly "vegetarian" planet, Holvu, also had an imperceptible population. Amphibian humanoids with blue skin hid safely in clear underwater domes, dotting the depths. Their structures' durability even protected then from the massive waves generated by Floretta's immense, inescapable grasp.

Thus, ten billion finned people received an unobstructed view of her sun-sized eyes; the canyon-sized ridges lining her lips; and the shining, white teeth as she opened her mouth, squeezing them in. The pressure sent geysers everywhere, and sucked them into whirlpools, leading right between her jaws.

Instantly, the world's councils sent their navies out for a preemptive strike. The hero of three wars, General Aluon, led an - her forces braving the turbulent waters to reach their foe. "Onwards! Kill the monster!" With a shout, a thousand missiles with their greatest weaponry launched from their carriers. Many didn't pass the stratosphere; more still exploded into a trench of her fingerprint, or into the pores of her face. A thousand explosions covered the brown, smooth surface. Those who weren't warriors cheered them on. For the first time in Holvu's history, all hearts beat as one - all their petty battles meant nought, once they united against a common threat.

And, as dust from their weapons cleared, it became clear: it was the last time they'd fight together. Floretta's looming, greedy maw remained undeterred; the monster hadn't even noticed their all-out attack. As her cruel fingers mercilessly squeezed the corners of the globe, its very life essence flew out with it. Tiny droplets of water that flew from the snack each contained a shining aquatic city, or a four battalions of Aluon's Army, rocketing at high speeds towards her tongue.

Even in the jaws of terror, they didn't falter. Their machinery fired at the wobbling, slimy muscle - and the aquatic people drove spears and knives into her all-consuming taste buds. They no longer expected to take her down - they simply sought a way out of the terrifying, murky cavern. They kept attacking as the Royal Capital of Hunde teetered into her throat; as the financial hotspots of Lufu and Aigeh slid off the moist, quivering pink slopes; as all they ever knew floated away on cleansing waves of saliva, into the mighty writer's innards. They were soon buried in the half-melted mush of her healthy, green breakfast.

The pressure launched General Aluon herself out in a stray droplet of her homeworld. She surveyed the warm, squishy landscape around, before realizing where they'd landed. Her ship - her fleet - and the water droplet surrounding it - they were all clinging into one of the fleshy folds of this monster's lip! The moisture from Floretta's landscape of skin seeped into the displaced ocean, keeping it glued nearby. The general had a front-row view to the last of her planet being slurped down. The beautiful waters that she grew up in were gone; all that remained was a dried husk, with the bespectacled woman soon plopped into her world-trending mouth and chomped into. Her warm breath drifted over them like a specter.

The general flew into a rage. She abandoned her ship, tossing concerned assistants aside. With only a spear, the warrior swam right into the tiniest corner of flesh, and wailed away at it. "Murderer! You'll regret swallowing our blue planet! For everyone here, I'll make you pay!" The military leader's voice continued to echo defiantly, even as a monstrous tendril of pink muscle reached out - traversing the mountainous canyons with a sickening squelch, and abducting her body into its inescapable hold...

Floretta licked up the last little squirts of that tasty water snack from her lips. She was in bliss for her next paragraph; it was like she'd sipped from a pure spring, rejuvenating her body. Hydration really did help her express herself. "Lastly, inhabitants of tiny worlds may have bizarre diseases, or poisonous defenses; which we're eating en masse. These are alien substances, with untested long-term health effects." She stretched out, feeling her joints' tension leave - and a tiny tingle from her belly. One more snack. No, maybe half of one. Just another little nibble to get her through the rest of the first draft.

When Floretta opened the bag, one tiny planet rolled onto her palm, in green and blue. Her eyes lit up. Water... and continents! Scrumptious continents, brimming with plant life, succulent spices, and just enough wetness to bring them down smoothly! She took a long smell of the marble-sized orb, letting its unique mixture of pollen float into her nostrils. The smell made the writer's nose tingle and quiver. She held it in both wavering hands, allowing it to roll gently in her palm. Such a rare mixture of circumstances could produce a treat so fruitful, yet void of animals... Was it really okay for her to eat this?

Amid the heavy foliage dotting the world, humanoids with large ears and tails floated up into the looming black holes of her nostril. The people of this planet, Gweru, were still in a hunter-gatherer phase; it was impossible for the company processing them to notice any signs of pollution, or even agriculture. From their happy lives, this massive face appeared on the horizon, lifting their friends upwards with breaths the of hurricanes, and shaking the earth with a mighty grip. Displaced trees and huts lined her nasal hairs, stuck in gallons of snot. The slight moisture of her open mouth fogged their skies, causing torrents of sticky rain. Thousands of shamans mediated on what these signs meant.

In the corner of the southern lands, one prisoner, Awa, looked up longingly. His parents used to tell him that one day, God would take the virtuous souls into the sky, and destroy the world. With people around the distant mountains rising up to join with the looming, majestic face in the sky, he guessed that he wasn't one of the worthy ones - and simply watched as the world fell apart by her hand.

Floretta itched behind her glasses, hesitant to bite in. It would be gluttonous to gulp this whole treat down after she'd already swallowed three whole planets. "Just one continent." Whispering to herself, she repeated: "Just gonna taste one, and leave the rest for later." Her short fingernail dug underneath the tiny chunk of crust, and pulled up. She watched tiny waterfalls drop off the landmass' corner, as she pulled it up with a finger, bringing it to her awaiting mouth...

*SLURP*

The almighty woman in the sky had stripped an entire continent off Planet Gweru, and now held it in her tongue. The world remaining on the ball saw to a horrific display: hundreds of villages and thousands of clans dangled on the pink monstrosity, not even filling half of its surface area. Awa's sense of gravity twisted as he watched her tongue ripple, flex, and wiggle, the huts and forests cascaded like waves on the great ocean. Chunks of the massive forests separated, becoming a mass of islands; and crumbled into each other. Her warm breath made the sight foggy; but it was clear to see, the world was falling apart inside of her. With a long, earth-trembling noise, the tongue lifted, tossing millions of specks back. And when it lay flat again, unleashing a contented sigh, the continent was gone.

Awa prayed, keeping his tail straight. How lucky that land was to join with their beautiful goddess; they must have been truly virtuous for her to accept them inside her.

The flavor of the little clump was delicious; a unique mix of earthy textures with crisp, fresh greens. In fact, it was addictive. Floretta twitched, trying to turn away. But that continent really wasn't all that huge. With a deep breath, she decided: one last continent. She moved the little ball to her mouth, gently nibbling at the eastern landmass, like a timid rabbit.

Floretta's massive teeth were like bulldozers, plowing through acres and acres of fresh land. It ripped through the green spaces, pulling it all into her ravenous mouth. No ancient tree was large enough, no civilization massive enough, no mountain high enough to resist its pull. Earthquakes made while villages flee to safety on the other side of Gweru, her bite driving into the planet's core. She was unstoppable, and her hunger was endless.

Awa felt the residual body heat drifting on him; and the speedy, dizzying rotation of the planet as she stripped another thousand forests off the surface. The abduction was long, even sensual, as if to tease him about her absolute omnipotence. Finally, in a great swallow, all he knew united into her depths, rejoining their goddess. Her deep, dark eyes scanned the remaining peoples, quiet, filled with wisdom. His ears twitched, awaiting her judgement. With the virtuous people having entered her, what would she do with the rest of the world?

Floretta shifted the remaining treat back and forth between her fingers, feeling like it was staring her down. Shame and embarrassment rose in her chest. Who was she to write about healthy eating, when she's been filling herself to the brim? But still, there was only one little splotch of land left. One tiny, delicious spot, barely more than an island; the last piece of green left on what was once a jungle planet. It would be a shame to just forget about it, and let it spoil. Soon, the vegetarian's growling tummy overpowered her shame and logic. She dipped her tongue in the waters, and let the last tasty plants slide gently onto her tongue.

Awa blinked in confusion. That tongue - that wonderful, all-consuming tongue... It was getting closer. The shores of his continent slipped atop the pink, saliva-lathered platform; followed by great forests, and villages he'd lived in himself...

He gasped, and bowed in joy. "She's eating me... She's eating me!" Sobbing, he kissed the earth, and embraced the damp darkness that surrounded him. The goddess had accepted him. No matter what he'd done in life, no matter how he'd ruined his mortal existence, the monolithic deity had endless mercy.

Mighty quakes buried him in the ground. He was going to join everyone with her.

Floods of saliva washed it away. He was going to become part of something bigger, more magnificent than he could imagine.

The last thundering groan of the goddess' stomach welcomed its new inhabitants in, like with the worlds before it.

The goddess judged him worthy to enter.

"I won't judge you. I especially won't judge you for what you eat. But no matter what, I'm still a vegetarian."

With a few clicks of her fingers, she finished her conclusion - and with it, the article. Floretta stretched, feeling her white shirt around her arms, as the last bits of juicy leaves tickled her throat lovingly. She put a finger to her neck, tracing it down to her belly as it fell down. What a great way to end her hard work! She looked at the completed document, saving it, and patting herself on the back for a job well done.

Now, editing this would be a whole other story. But first, she deserved a break. Opening her browser, Floretta idly hummed, scrolling absent-mindedly through gossip and political headlines. Before long, a set of reports in the "health" section caught her eye.

"Contaminants found in Brand X Vegetarian Shrunken Planets"

"Recalls as Tests Discover Microbe-Sized Civilizations On Vegetarian Planets"

"As Many As 75% Of Assorted Planets May Have Tiny Populations"

Floretta stared in shock at the words; then at the bag of planets; then at her stomach. Realization dawned on her, like an anvil falling on her head. Those were cities she was eating. The little tickle in her throat was a massive population brought to its knees by her shameful gluttony. Because she couldn't control her hunger, she sacrificed living people. Even now, she could feel them in her stomach...

...Quietly caressing the folds of muscle... Reminding her of their mouth-watering, succulent flavor. Far richer and more varied than any of the vegetarian meals she'd had; and that was just a little snack...

With a long breath in, Floretta's slender fingers clicked back to the article she was writing. There was one edit she could make now. That title: "Why I Am Still A Vegetarian". It really didn't work. With a few taps on the keyboard, and a nod of approval, she changed it to something far more fitting:

"Why I Was Still a Vegetarian"