24 January 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2626: peel the skin off

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Seven-year-old Amanda Ludlow was looking and looking and looking at the bowl of kiwis that appeared on the kitchen counter one fine evening … rarely did her grandparents buy anything not grown in some variety next door in Fruitland Memorial Park, but that wasn't the reason.

“So, I'm confused,” she said to her grandfather, Captain R.E. Ludlow. “Do we need to peel it, because if we do, I'm not sure what season it is.”

“Well, it is September now, so summer will soon become fall,” he said.

“But, you know how winter fruit needs us to peel the skin off before we eat it, and summer fruit really doesn't? Which one is that?”

“Oh,” he said with a smile. “You mean citrus fruits need peeling, but peaches and plums really don't.”

“Yeah, and then year-round things like bananas, pineapples, and mangos need peeling too, Papa.”

“A kiwi is in a class by itself – you can eat the peel, or not. Most people don't eat the peel because it is quite rough in its texture, but I prefer to wait until they get quite ripe, and then eat them like an aggressive peach – the fruit gets very sweet but the skin keeps that sour bite.”

“But why does it have to be all aggressive?” Amanda said.

“What I mean is, the hair and texture is quite a bit more noticeable than on a peach, and some people can't handle it – shall I do a taste test for us?”

“Wait a minute – I need to get Gracie, and she needs to bring some water that has been prayed over, because we gotta keep this fruit from being all aggressive like we gotta help Edwina.”

“Can't have kiwis breaking bad, huh?” he said.

“Nope,” she said, and as she went, her grandfather had a good if silent laugh before letting Mrs. Thalia Ludlow and the rest know he was setting up a kiwi taste test.

“Well, in my house we are kiwi-inclusive, because my mom cuts them in half and scoops them out like grapefruit, and my dad is just out here gobbling them whole,” eight-year-old Gracie Trent said as she came back with Amanda. “But they don't need holy water. God made them right off the vine. They're already blessed.”

“Oh, I am so relieved because I really was not ready for a world in which fruit is acting a fool,” Amanda said.

“Yeah, people kinda have that locked,” Gracie said, “but fruit is innocent!”