Chapter Twenty-Eight

When we let go and sat down, we looked forward to the flipped table. The silence muffled the room, making every little sound akin to a roaring jet engine. Neither of us knew when to speak. I turned to Nina watched as she focused on nothing. At that moment, I wanted to see her smile. I wanted to see the person that was ready to do anything at any time. But I held my words back. I already forced her to share everything. I couldn’t ask her to do something difficult so soon. Before I could turn back to stare at nothing, I saw Nina’s face lift up.

“You know, I’ve never heard my name spoken out loud,” she said, trying to close her eyes. “The people who raise me never gave me one. The people I met never bothered to remember it. I started to wonder if it was pointless to even have one. I didn’t think I’d ever hear it, and I’d leave this world being the only one that knew that the woman who lived in the hold in the ground was named Nina.” She turned to me with a smile on her face. “But then you showed up. You remembered my name. You spoke it the same way I did. You knew what person was behind that name. It’s hard for me to believe everything you said. There’s still a lot that you don’t know about this world. But all I needed to believe in you, was to hear my name through your lips.”

I felt the heat spread to my face. But at the same time, I felt happiness. I could tell that Nina still had a lot inside her that needed to be said out loud. If either of us wanted to be free of our biggest issues, we needed help, and we needed time. But for the time being, I knew she felt better. I held her hand with a smile on my face.

“Nina,” I said, feeling the tremble on her hand. “Takes time. Long journey. Just happy, you can share.”

“Of course. And you already know that I’d do the same for you.” I looked towards the container and the vegetables spread all around the floor. Nina followed my gaze and tried to stand up, before holding herself back. “I did that. I should fix it.”

“Help,” I said standing up before her. “No problem.” I flipped the table upright and placed the container on top of it. I picked up every single vegetable we received, making sure none were left unaccounted. “Forget one, bad time. Left alone, smells like me.” Nina let out a small laugh.

“It smells like nothing?” she said, trying to raise an eyebrow. “Do you still think you smell bad? I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

“Friends, keep truths sometimes. Don’t want to hurt.”

“Friends? What’s that? I don’t think I’ve heard that word before.”

“People. Spend time together. Share many things.” I said with a smile. “You and me.”

“We’re, friends?” she asked. “What makes us friends?”

“Walk, talk, laugh, cry, together.” I saw the gears turning in her head.

“Is this similar to that love thing you keep mentioning.”

“Sometimes.”

“Then these ’friends’, do they love each other?” I paused and thought about the redness on my face hearing those words.

“Sometimes.” I could see Nina trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.

“Maybe, up to you,” I said, looking at her. Nina looked back trying to hide her own smile.

“Now how can I do something when I don’t know what feels like? You still haven’t explained it to me.”

“Still difficult. Friends with anyone. Love, only some.” Nina stood up and looked into the container, examining every vegetable.

“Well, if this is what friends do together, I’m happy that we can call ourselves that. I’m more than happy. I have someone I can trust, and I have someone I can share anything with.

“Friends, easy,” I said. “Simple explanation.” I turned back to the vegetables and wondered what we were going to make out of them. I don’t remember seeing any recipe books in the shelves, and the whole point of me wanting to cook was because I’ve never done it before. We have ingredients, but nothing to help us. Nina walked over to me and picked up a vegetable, examining it.

“I’ve seen some pictures, but I never tried to remember the names,” she said, waving it around. What’s this one called?”

“Cucumber. Crunchy, refreshing. Mild flavor,” I said following the path she made with it.

“Cucumber. It does sound familiar now. But I think I remember reading that it’s considered something called a fruit. You called it a vegetable.”

“How you eat it, gives it definition.” She picked up another one from the pile.

“And this one? It’s so red!”

“Tomato, sometimes sweet. Sometimes not. Lots of uses.”

“This one I do remember, and it’s also a fruit! Are you telling the truth about these?”

“Taste, makes sense.”

“Then can I take a bite out of them?”

“On the floor. Must wash. Water should be fine.” Nina ran to the sink, holding the tomato under the running water. After a few seconds, she returned back to me, teeth ready to sink in. She took a bite, and I watched as the tomato juice ran down her face. She pulled it away from herself and chewed on the piece she took.

“This is so strange! I don’t know what I’m feeling,” she said with her eyes wide. “I like it. The book mentioned that tomatoes can sometimes be sweet. Is that what this sensation is?” I took the tomato from her and bit into it. I recognized the richness of the flesh and that unmistakable feeling of strange sweetness.

“Somewhat sweet, not like real fruits,” I said, handing the tomato back.

“This is a real fruit,” she responded.

“Tasted other fruits. Tasted other vegetables. Tomato is vegetable.” Nina laughed at how serious my voice became. I smiled as I returned to the vegetables, trying to see if there was a fruit hidden within them. At the same time, Nina walked toward her room and changed her clothes before heading back to the container. She picked out a cucumber and washed it.

“This is a cucumber. It’s also supposed to be a fruit,” she said before taking a bite. I saw the smile form on her face as she delighted in the crunchy sounds she made.

“This is so good! I want to keep eating this!” She didn’t hand me the cucumber like she did the tomato.

“Not sweet, but still good,” I said to her. Nina nodded, focusing on the food she was eating.

“There’s a different flavor there,” she said, pointing to the green skin. “It feels nothing like the sweetness of the tomato.”

“Most likely bitterness,” I said to her. “Strange flavor. Can be good or bad.”

“I want to take a bite out of every single different vegetable in here. But I have to contain myself because these aren’t all for me. I didn’t forget that we’re supposed to be cooking!” I laughed at Nina realizing what she was doing. I couldn’t find any other fruits, but I was able to figure out which vegetables were given to us. There were cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, and one small head of broccoli. They laid in the container, waiting for us to try and figure out how to unlock their variety of flavors.