Strange Fruit {Open}

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<sub>Gabrielle awoke with a freshness that was strange even to the baker, who had gotten used to the early rising, and actually enjoyed it. She rose out of bed, stretched, and remembered what today was. She nearly threw herself out of the covers, and onto the cold floor. Today was the cocoa harvest, wasn’t it? She quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs to the bakery kitchen, checking the calendar hanging on the wall. So it was.

Every year since she was maybe 13, Rielle was sent to the cocoa plantations to work, in return the bakery would get a share of the fruit. She enjoyed working, even if it was a pain. Being out in the sun, with all the other workers, laughing and talking and making friends. Of course, it hadn’t turned out like that. After the first day, she had hurried home and cried in her grandmother’s arms. It was not sunny. In fact: it was raining. She was not with the other workers; she was outside of the circle. There was no talking and certainly no laughing and friends were unheard of. Despite the rough treatment, she worked the next three days, because Grandfather needed her to. The bakery couldn’t afford to buy all their stock, and this was a deal that he himself couldn’t fulfill. She was the only one strong enough.

It’s been a few years now, and the treatment changed little, no matter how much the girl tried. Despite this, every year she went, and every year she tried again. This year will be different, she told herself. This year will be better. It rarely was. Rielle rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and walked back up the stairs, bringing with her a little bread for her grandmother’s breakfast. She tied her golden curls at the nape of her neck. The bun was secured with a length of blue ribbon that matched the blouse she was wearing. Though she usually wore a dress, today called for a pair of trousers, which were slightly too small, but the ankle length was hidden by her grey boots. A knitted shawl kept the chill away, draped over her shoulders.

She stepped outside, after bidding farewell to her grandmother, and inhaled a lungful of air, crisp with autumn. The crowds were beginning to form, people slowly making their way to the orchards. She joined them, already feeling the stares. They pierced into her back like daggers. They stung like burns from the stove she was so familiar with. She tried to brush them off her shoulders, and wrapped her shawl tighter around her torso as if it would block them out. She held her head high, her shoulders back, spine straight, and walked like she had every right to be there. She’d show them she wasn’t some soft merchant girl. She can hold her own, thank you very much.

The long lines in front of the gate slowed her up, and she waited, some jostling her around as they walked forward. Generally, the first ones in line got the best jobs, but it was really all the same. The Peacekeeper at the gate gave her a look. The Peacekeepers usually came into her bakery, so they all knew her. She smiled gently at him, and he gave her the assignment paired with a polite nod. “Orchard 11, tree number 4, Miss Taryn.” She thanked him, and briskly walked through the orchards until she reached her destination. The bag was slung over her shoulder.

When she arrives at the tree, the first thing she notices is that it seems to be speaking. Blinking, she stands underneath it, listening to the song. It’s coming from a boy, no older than 15 or 16. He has dark coloring, and she is surprised to notice that he is nearly as tall as her! She has always known that she was short, for her age, but it never seemed to bother her. She could get around the bakery just fine, and that’s really all that mattered. She put down the bag, and folded her shawl, placing them gently on the ground besides the trunk. The boy didn’t seem to notice her yet, intent on reaching for a rather large fruit. She watches, blue eyes wide, as his fingers brush the fruit and it falls. Lurching forward, the 19-year-old catches it, mildly surprised by the athletic ability shining through. Though she works hard, Rielle knows she isn’t the fastest girl in District 11, and would hardly call herself agile.

She looks up at the boy in the tree, smiling lightly. “Hello. My name is Gabrielle.” Gently, she placed the fruit in her bag, which she slung over her shoulder. The wind was tossing her curls, and in the back of her mind, she was worried the ribbon would come undone, but it seemed to be holding fast. It was all going to the same place anyway. “Would you rather I come up, or stay down here?” she asked, shifting her weight lightly. She didn’t often come to the harvests, and wasn’t sure how exactly to go about collecting with her partner.

Some people were colder than others, and didn’t respond to her question, sneering instead and leaving her to fend for herself. She usually just collected from one side of the tree while they the other, following along quietly behind and praying the day went as fast as possible.</sub>

The rain had turned the forest into a completely different world. The sun peeked through the branches and kissed the ground. The leaves were wet and green, everything was green. It was beautiful. The ground was mush under my feet, and I glided through the forest like a bird. Silent and swift. The sun touched my face and it felt... cold... wet...What is that?
I woke up to rain drops falling on my face. Ugh, another leak I need to fix before the whole house is flooded too.

Today was the day that I would bring my brother along to the fields with me. We have never worked together, because one of us has to stay home and watch William. So it will be interesting to see how this will work. Usually he is sent to the wheat fields because he is one of the few 16 year old's that could pick up the huge bundles of wheat. I look over at him on the floor with his mouth agape and snoring loudly, "Conall, get up. It's time to go." I nudge him with my foot as I make my way around him and over to the kitchen table.

I can see my "mother" sitting on the front porch staring at the sky. "Maya, I'm leaving your breakfast on the table. Its going to get cold if you sit out there all day," I called out to her. She didn't acknowledge me, like always, and I continued on to William. I look around the corner and find that his bed is empty and his boots are gone. That boy...

I storm outside, stomping past Maya and out to the back of the house, where William was sitting in the mud talking to himself. "William, you shouldn't be out here! You're going to get sick! Get back in the house before you get the flu!"
William turned his head over his shoulder and looked at me with wide innocent eyes. "Toby said its going to clear up later today. But I couldn't wait, besides I like the rain. Toby and Stroy want to make mud balls today and we have to do it before it gets sunny again."

I blew out a frustrated sigh. I really need to talk to him about his imaginary friends. "Alright William, Toby, Stroy, you can only be out here five more minutes and then I want you all to get cleaned up and get back inside. Me and Conall are going to the fields today, so I want you on your best behavior. I told the neighbors to keep an eye on you, so if any of you do anything bad I will find out about it." William's eyes grew big again as if all the stuff he had planned to do were flushed down the toilet.

I walk back inside to put breakfast out on the table, and find that Conall is still on the floor sleeping! I snag one of the pots that had been catching another leak in the kitchen and stand over him with it. "CONALL! Wake up!" I yell and pour the water on him. He flops around like a fish out of water as he slowly realizes what happened. "And I call you my sister," he muttered.
"Yes you do, and your sister says its time to go to work. Now," I retorted and exited the room to place the pot back under the leak, and to get a new bowl for the leak above my bed. I slipped my boots on and walked out of the door and into the street, waiting for Conall to come out.

Conall walks out of the door and turns to Maya sitting in her chair, "Bye mom, I'll see you later," and kisses her lightly on the forehead. She sits there like a stone and never even blinks an eye. I roll my eyes at her and start walking to the fields before I smack her in the face.

We made it to the fields and everyone was drenched, silent, and unhappy. Conall was assigned first. "Sloane. Field 4. Section 5," the Peacekeeper says. Conall turns to look at me over his shoulder and says, "Well, maybe tomorrow."
I walk up to the Peacekeeper and he looks me over with indifference, and then something flashes across his eyes. Recognition? Crap, does he know who my father is? "Another Sloane," he says, "Was your father Albert Sloane by any chance?"
My mouth went dry. What does he know about my father? "Yes sir," I reply respectfully. He continues to stare me down, "Interesting. Orchard 11. Tree 5. Next."

He hands me a sac and I say, "Thank you, sir." I proceed to the field I have been put in and I see that they are cacao trees. Great, how am I supposed to climb these bad boys? The trees are huge, and the bark is brittle and comes off easily. I stand underneath it and stare up at its branches and leaves and analyze how I am going to get up this thing.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a pod fall to the ground. I twirl around to try and catch it, but I see a girl standing with it in her hand. She is staring into the tree and shes talking to it. There's a boy in the tree, who can't be more than fifteen, and he maneuvers well in between the branches. I want to ask him how he got up there but then I feel something or someone watching me. I turn around and I see two Peacekeepers staring down at me from the watch tower.

One leans over to the other and says something, waving his hand in my direction. Look busy! I say to myself, as I start to climb up the tree tediously. I notice the pair in the next tree over have a good rhythm going, the boy picking the pods and letting them fall, while the girl catches them and puts them in the bag.

Where is my partner? Aren't there supposed to be two people? I lean over and grab a pod and it falls to the ground and cracks open. Rotten seeds splatter all over my sack. I see the watch tower through the branches, and the two Peacekeepers smile wickedly.