"There are no seasons in the American super market."
Here it is :) I'm pretty proud of it.
The
Orange Who Knew Too Much
Alfred
was a simple man. He enjoyed his days spent in his home with his family. One of
his favorite hobbies was to sit and watch people. Alfred had a lovely wife with
several children. Alfred had several siblings along with his parents and
grandparents. They all lived in the same vicinity, making family reunions all
but necessary. Most of Alfred’s family was content with this life as well.
Generations had passed with the same attitude towards life. His youngest
daughter, Albany, knew she wanted something more. Alfred always reminded Albany
life wasn’t very complicated because “the seasons never change in an American
super market.” Albany hated that saying, as it was a motto used throughout the
neighborhood. Albany knew that there was something beyond the sliding glass
doors, something calling to her.
Albany had been brought into this
world several months before joining her family. One could argue she was
adopted, but in this neighborhood, everyone was. There were a few immediate
families that were technically biological, but during the shuffle of moving
into the neighborhood, most were mixed together. Albany had undergone the usual
memory erase that each of her kind go through to come to The Kingdom. It was a
routine that everyone knew happened, yet they couldn’t remember why. Most
everyone was content with this system. No one wanted to agitate the giants, so
asking questions wasn’t an option. There were several different neighborhoods
in the Kingdom. There were several different giants who ruled the Kingdom. The
most important giants were indistinguishable. Alfred often referred to these
giants as “humans” which meant to look your best every time they came to
evaluate the neighborhood. Alfred was an older man, so he had lived through
many “pickings” the “humans” would do. “Pickings” were what the giants did in
order to keep the people’s allegiance. It was a reminder who was really in
charge. The red knitted jails where the inmates were kept were picked more
often than in the neighborhoods. The giants understood that society needed to
remain safe and tax money spent well. The jails were picked more frequently
because of this.
One usual morning in Alfred’s
neighborhood, Albany woke and adjusted herself to look her best. She thought
about the several different things that ran her simple life. How could her life
be simple? She felt as though her life was anything but simple. Everyone in her
neighborhood just accepted what they were told without questioning it. When
gatherings occurred, everyone looked their best just in case a human came to do
a picking. None of these people thought for themselves. As Albany let her
thoughts travel throughout their various destinations in her brain, she felt a
small tap on her shoulder. It was Alfred. Even though he was technically Albany’s
father, she would never address him as such.
“Good morning Alfred.” Albany said
in her usual cold tone. She didn’t put emotion in her words because she felt
that she wasn’t allowed to feel them anyway, so what was the use.
“Albany,” began Alfred. He was
concerned, and his words were hoping to ease some of his worry for his
daughter. “I know you aren’t like the others…and I know…” he was then
interrupted by an angry Albany, an emotion he had yet to witness.
“You know I’m not like the others? How on Kingdom would you know that? The most you’ve ever said to
me is ‘the seasons never change in American supermarket’!” Her voice mimicked
his in a demeaning way, and offended Alfred. Taken back by her sudden glimpse
of emotion, Alfred took a moment to gather his thoughts. Letting his hurt
feelings get the best of him, he sternly replied,
“Yes, I know you’re not like the
others because you don’t fit in this neighborhood like everyone else does.
You’re different, and it’s disgustingly apparent.”
The strongest
attribute Alfred contained was also his weakness. He was quick to speak, and
his words always had meaning and an impact on who heard them. Albany felt as
though someone had just stung her heart with an acidic knife. She wasn’t like
the others, he was right. That also meant she could stand up to him and say
what she was really thinking.
“Well, if it’s disgustingly
apparent, why don’t you put me in the red mesh jail? Wouldn’t your life be
simpler if only someone wasn’t reminding you of the strife that haunts you at
night?” Albany was proud of her condescending comeback, and was even more proud
when she witnessed Alfred, defeated, turn away. Albany wasn’t expecting this
morning to start in such a way, but now she had even more desire to find out
the truth behind the humans, the giants, and the Kingdom. Her memory may have
been erased, but she was certain she could somehow figure out a way to get to
the bottom of this. The only struggle now was to not get picked. She meant what
she had said to Alfred, but she couldn’t actually afford to go to the red mesh
jail. She couldn’t get picked now.
Alfred was respected in the
neighborhood since he had survived so many pickings. After his confrontation
with Albany, he went to his wife, Andrea, to discuss the issue at hand. Andrea
was pained to hear her newest daughter had developed such hatred toward the
system. Andrea believed the humans were merely a way to help the people
maintain their purpose. She tried to offer her daughter examples and stories to
prove her belief. Albany refused any of these explanations and decided to move
from the neighborhood to the red mesh jail. She figured life in prison would be
better than life in ignorance.
As Albany joined one of the jails,
she couldn’t help but feel alone. Thoughts scattered across her brain as she
tried to make sense of what her life had become. The red mesh jail fell silent
as they saw two humans come straight for it. Albany closed her eyes just as the
picking began. She felt the jail cell she was in move and shake. Suddenly, as
her red mesh jail had been chosen, a memory flooded her mind. It was the farm,
a farm in California. There were pesticides and sprays that erased her memory.
There were trucks and men picking her and her family from trees. Trees, the
foreign beauty that she now remembered all too clearly, were now going to be
removed.
Albany
was so lost in her memory that she forgot she had been picked. As she suddenly
revived herself, she opened her eyes to find that one of the humans had peeled
her skin off and was proceeding to eat her. Albany was alright with this,
because now that she remembered, that was her purpose: to feed the humans. It
all made sense now. There are no seasons in the American supermarket because
Albany was an orange. A tasteful, delicious orange who knew too much.
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