Tuesday, November 14, 2006

at the dining table

Her thumb dug into the nubbly exterior releasing a squirt of juice and signature scent. She peeled it carefully so that the skin unwound into one long corkscrewy coil. When she was a child her mother would open each sliver and feed her the juicy, pulpy bits inside by hand. The scent would linger on Ma's fingers for the rest of the day and she would often run up to her, grab hold of her soft hand and inhale deeply.

She smiled and popped a piece in to her mouth whole. There was no one to prise open the white, spider web cage. But at least she would always have the smell.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

errrr...shoefie, I did't get that... What was the thing ? And the reference to the spider cage?

Anonymous said...

i thot it was abt an orange...u calling the skin and the white nervy things the spider web cage?

reshma said...

Loved the way you captured the moment!

Anonymous said...

Lovely!

Anonymous said...

Er, isn't it 'prise open'?

The ramblings of a shoe fiend said...

apu - oh well. it was an orange :)

siri - correct!

reshma, noon - thank you

sfk - who said this was about me :P

Jade - thank you! correction made.