Reminding me of a child’s balloon, the Tootsie Pop is colorful and pleasing to the eye, while the sterile lights above me reflect off of the wine-colored wax paper wrapper as it lies idle on my desk. The wrapper looks as if it was an expertly pleated skirt, though it is beginning to tear around the base of the candy bulb. My hands graze the smooth wrapper interrupted only by wrinkles as I go to pick it up, and then rest on the soft yet abrasive paper stick. Though designed for the delicate hands of a child, it holds firm in my hand. For the first time I notice that the end of the stick has been disfigured by times gone by, and that the paper has begun to peel away from itself. Because the Tootsie Pop came from the depths of a bag of Double…show more content… However, this simple beauty was marred by flaking areas that were caked and dry as the earth is during a drought. Anticipation of the experiences to come causes my mouth to begin to water. Sickeningly sweet tastes fill my mouth and jarrs me with the shock of it. My memories of a sweet yet fruity taste suggestive of raspberries, has morphed into nothing but the artificial taste of pure Splenda. As time goes by, I can begin to taste the deep chocolate of the Tootsie Roll. Out of impatience, I bite down on the hard candy and I can hear it as it crackles under the pressure of my teeth. Then the confection becomes softer and more chewy as the candy becomes one with the Tootsie Roll. A wonderful mix of the two stick to my teeth as I try to gnaw it off of the paper stick. What is left of the hard candy snaps as I separate it from the hardened bonbon that its has spent many days with. Once I’ve finished I notice that the paper has turned pink with the food dye and the paper stick has swollen due to my salivating mouth. Seeing as how there is nothing left for me to pry off of the stick that once held so much joy and hope, I toss it into my trash can with its wrapper. Seventies style bubble letters that bear the name of this miniature treat glare up at me as I leave it with the rotting
