what you sow

[katrea]

On the doorstep of a townhome in New York City, a basket is placed.

The doorbell rings.

There are footsteps, and then there are not.

Comments

[katrea]

"Chris?"

[pythbox]

"My aunt who's looking for your parents or whatever."

[katrea]

"How does she know where to look?"

[pythbox]

"I dunno. She didn't say."

[katrea]

"Oh." Unbasket girl taps her hands on her knees thoughtfully, then says, "I'm hungry."

[pythbox]

"We have snacks," says Lizbeth. "C'mon."

She leads the way to the kitchen.

[katrea]

Unbasket girl declares string cheese, potato chips, shortbread cookies, yogurt, salted peanuts, and leftover chicken salad "not food" before her gaze lights on the fruit bowl. She can't reach it. "Can I have the orange one?"

[pythbox]

"Sure," says Elizabeth. She reaches into the bowl and hands the girl an orange.

[katrea]

The girl bites directly into the orange peel, and, apparently quite content with the results, chews on the pith.

[pythbox]

"The inside part's good too," she advises.

[katrea]

"Yes," agrees the girl, who has yet to eat any inside part. "It's inside the outside part though." Chew chew.

[pythbox]

"I don't like the outside, but the inside's tasty," says Elizabeth.

[katrea]

"The outside is fine," says the girl. "It's food."

[pythbox]

"It tastes weird. But I guess not to you," says Elizabeth.

[katrea]

The girl's next bite includes some inside part. "Is it okay to eat the whole thing?"

[pythbox]

She shrugs. "Yeah."

[katrea]

So she does. Om nom nom.

[pythbox]

Elizabeth has a banana. She does not eat its outside part.

[katrea]

The girl looks speculatively at the banana peel but does not ask for it. She seems done eating when her orange is gone.

[pythbox]

"You can have this if you want," says Elizabeth, waving the banana peel like a small floppy flag, "otherwise I'll throw it out."

[katrea]

"I could eat it but I'm not hungry any more."

[pythbox]

Elizabeth shrugs and puts the peel in the compost bucket.

[katrea]

"How long will it take to find where I am from?"

[pythbox]

"Dunno."

[katrea]

"What if it is a long time?"