It came in a clear plastic clamshell box
like a homecoming corsage:
a perfectly ripe kiwi,
sliced down the center to reveal
the gleaming purple fruit. She ate half,
surprised by its arresting sweetness,
and placed the remainder in her refrigerator
between an apple and an orange.
But when she reopened the door,
the container was gone.
The apple and orange had not moved
closer together; there was simply nothing
in the space between. And yet,
she could still taste that purple kiwi.
Surely something so delicious
could not be imagined.
Surely it made all other kiwis
green with envy.
Susan L. Lin is a Taiwanese American storyteller who hails from southeast Texas and holds an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. Her novella Goodbye to the Ocean won the 2022 Etchings Press novella prize, and her short prose and poetry have appeared in over fifty different publications. She loves to dance. Find more at https://susanllin.wordpress.com.