The Papaya’s Pearls

By Silvia Zeng

In her little bucket there was a papaya. The papaya is botanically a berry, besides blueberries, raspberries and the others. It is nicknamed  the “Fruit of the Angels” by Christopher Columbus with green skin that eventually turns orange or yellow when ripe, except Becca’s wasn’t orange or yellow. The OtherGirls also brought their weave baskets, some with pink ribbons adjourning the side handles. TheOtherBoys brought their baskets with fruits that the girls liked such as strawberries and cherries. 

On the carpet, all sat down, the teacher smiles and slices her apple, peeling off the skin. 

BlondeGirl peels the orange BlondeGuy gifted her.

TopGirl shares her grapes with TheOtherGirls.

And Becca cracks open her 20 inch Papaya in half, causing the black seeds to spill.  Teary eyed, she picks them up one by one and puts them into her plastic basket. She then bites the Papaya. 

Maria says “The starchy and slimy jumbo fruit is what you bring?” whilst giggling. 

Sunny agrees and laughs. Everybody laughs. Even the teacher. The laughs echo across the classroom. 

Becca was boneless. The still water drools over her cheeks, landing on the scattered seeds. 

With her hands she enclosed the seeds and hid her face. 

The seeds then germinate through her punch of pulp. They rise in tremor, bright, with a touch of gold. She removes her hands and a tree of papaya fruits is born from Class A. 

The kids erupt in cheers and Becca plucks her abnormally large papaya with both hands, prying it open. The teacher scooped it in half, filling the empty half with the OtherStudents’ strawberries, blueberries, salmonberries, cranberries, mulberries and more.

Becca is given a wooden spoon, she mixes the fruits and tastes a mouthful of sweet and sour crunched between her braced teeth with a smile.