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Prickly Pear

September 29, 2020 7 Comments

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Primi: pasta in a white sauce. Secondi: sausages and salad. Dessert: local prickly pear. The pears had been blanched, peeled, presented in their own split skins. The plated fruits resembled tiny human hearts in green shells. From afar, they could’ve been actual flowers, but up close, they were disturbingly anatomical.

At the end of the meal, the woman at the end of the table discovered that the wine taken in conjunction with the pear produced a certain fizzle on the tongue that echoed into the throat. She passed the remaining Shiraz and coaxed her many lunch mates into trying the experiment.

By Courtney Harler

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tom Stewart says

    September 29, 2020 at 7:23 am

    Splendid writing. Your story stopped me and had me simply sitting and thinking about the moment you describe.

    Reply
    • Courtney Anne Harler says

      September 29, 2020 at 11:22 am

      Thanks, Tom!

      Reply
  2. Courtney Harler says

    September 29, 2020 at 11:21 am

    Please comment & share!

    Reply
  3. Lisa Marie says

    September 29, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Excellent writing and I enjoyed it 🙂

    Reply
    • Courtney Anne Harler says

      September 29, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      Thanks so much, Lisa!

      Reply
  4. Clueless says

    September 29, 2020 at 3:50 pm

    I must be dense. I don’t understand the story. Maybe there is something implied I just can’t grasp. ? 🙁

    Reply
    • Courtney Anne Harler says

      September 29, 2020 at 5:26 pm

      Hi, Clueless. The “story” is more of a moment, but it does have a kind of narrative arc: a very short one. Hehe. Thanks for reading & commenting. 🙂

      Reply

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