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"PINEAPPLE JUICE" BY EMILY RADELL

Updated: Nov 3, 2020

The sun coated everything in warmth – the mountainous terrain covered in trees and shrubbery of emerald green, the trails etched into the ground by the boots of the locals, my skin as the heat of my clothes brushed against my damp chest. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight as the sun beat down onto us. I took a break, resting against a mound of dirt to balance myself as I gulped down warm water from my Hydro flask and opened a packet of nuts, the last of my preservatives. Concha stood next to me; her breath ragged as she gulped down mouthfuls of air with hands resting on her knees as she bowed her head in exhaustion.


“Sonya, I’m going to need to sit down for a while,” Concha said between gasps.


We had just hiked a mile uphill searching for the perfect spots to place spigots for the Guatemalan locals when the mid-afternoon sun’s rays became too much. Concha and I walked to a tree by the path, slumping onto the floor and soaked in the cool shade from the tree’s branches as we rested our heads against the base of its trunk. Sonya reappeared from the clearing beneath, a knife and sliced pineapple chunks in hand.


“There’s a whole field of them down there,” Sonya exclaimed. “This one here was unrooted because of the trench so I figured we could all use the energy.”


She gave one slice to me and another to Concha, alternating amongst the three of us until we each had three in hand. The freshly sliced pieces oozed juice, dripping onto my hands and coating my fingers in a sticky sweetness. I placed two onto my legs and brought the third up to my lips, soaking in the heavenly smell before biting down onto the juicy chunk.


This was the first time I’d had pineapple in years, and I couldn’t remember ever tasting a pineapple so sweet. Juice exploded in my mouth and dripped out the curve of my lips. Its succulence was all I could think about as I sucked the skin clean and moved onto the second slice.


I looked up, taking in the scenery and paused. Waves of emerald and golden trees swayed in the wind as their hues basked in the sun’s rays, brighter and more beautiful than ever before. They danced with each other, their branches intertwining, caressing the leaves of another. I had never seen anything like it before, never paid attention to the beauty of the earth that surrounded my every waking step, even after living in this village for more than three weeks. It wasn’t until I sat on that hillside with a pineapple slice in hand, juice oozing down my chin, watching the horizon that I finally opened my eyes.



 

Emily Radell is studying English at NMSU with a concentration in Literature, Language and Culture and a minor in Journalism. She currently lives in Las Cruces and is expected to graduate in the Spring of 2022. She hopes to be accepted to an MFA program post-graduation and aspires to pursue a career in publishing. Emily wants to become an acquisitions editor for a major or medium sized publishing house in YA or Contemporary fiction. She enjoys reading a variety of genres --- fiction, self-help, memoir, among others --- and listens to Ted Talks and podcasts in her free time on current events and social issues.

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