February

By Julia Averbeck

Smashwords Edition

Copyright March 2012, Julia Averbeck

Cover by Julia Averbeck



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The people who have read my book “September” already know what a drabble is but here is the explanation for all the others:
A drabble is a short story, which is told in exactly 100 words.
Again, I looked for a source of inspiration and this time I decided that fruits are a good inspiration. I randomly selected a fruit for each day and built it into my drabble. The fruits are in bold letters, so you can find them easily.
I hope you’ll enjoy my little stories.

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Grapefruit

What do you think when you are looking at a grapefruit? It looks a bit like a giant orange from the outside but most of the times it is red from the inside. Grapefruits also belong to the family of citrus fruits but this is the end of the similarities between grapefruits and oranges. It is no problem to eat oranges but when you eat a grapefruit, the expression of your face turns quickly into something that resembles the expression when your toe collides with something hard. You can always tell yourself you eat them because of the vitamin C.


Perfect day

He lay on his back in a grassy field and looked up into the sky. There were no cloud and the air was warm enough to wear a t-shirt and shorts. The sun shone into his eyes and he turned his face, so it was in the shadow of the peach tree. He could smell the ripe fruits hanging above him and was able to catch one when it fell down. The sweet juice ran down his tongue when he bit into the peach and he closed his eyes. Sighing contently, he thought that this moment was just like paradise.


Seven

Her head rested in her hands and she tried hard not to fall asleep. The guy beside her chatted away happily and she just needed to make some confirming noises when he stopped a moment to breathe. She shouldn’t have gone out with a man whom her mother had selected for her but on the other hand, she didn’t want to be impolite. Her eyes wandered to the cocktail in front of her, which she had barely touched and she tried to count the cranberries swimming in it. There were seven of them, not her lucky number today.


Strawberry jam

Ella sneaked into the kitchen when her mother wasn’t looking. She knew that the upper cabinet contained something, which she really liked. When Granny had visited them last week, she had seen that her mother had placed a jar of Granny’s famous strawberry jam into this specific cabinet. Ella had already tried to convince her brother Jason to fetch the jar for her but her mother had told him that he shouldn’t give the strawberry jam to his sister. Longingly, Ella looked up at the cabinet containing the jam, which was just out of her reach and sighed.


Clementine

He had searched for her for years but he still hadn’t found the girl that he had met in a bakery one sunny day in February. Her smile and her golden hair were still fresh in his mind and he could taste the sound of her name on his tongue: Clementine. How he wished to see her again, just once, so he could tell her that she took his breath away, made his heart beat faster. Now he was older and only thought of her from time to time. Clementine, the love of his life when he was five. 


Bird and mouse

The red currants looked so tasty o the bird bit it couldn’t reach them because there was a net between it and the fruits. It had already tried everything. Getting to the bush from above was impossible and there was no getting through from the sides either. Sighing, the bird sat down and stared at the lovely fruits when a mouse came along. The mouse saw the sad bird and the net over the red currant bush and started to nibble on it. Soon there was a hole, which was big enough for both the mouse and the bird.


Baking

“Did you get everything that was on the list?” a voice called down the corridor before Caroline was completely through the door. “Yes Mum, I got everything,” she shouted back and rolled her eyes a bit. When her mother was stuck in one of her backing phases, nothing else was important. Caroline entered the kitchen but felt the impulse to leave it again at once when she saw the chaos on every possible surface. Her mother snatched the bags out of her hands and sighed relieved. “They are perfect,” she exclaimed while she admired the plums. “Exactly what I needed.”


Gooseberries

Why are gooseberries called gooseberries? Is it because geese (that’s the plural of goose) like to eat them? No, that sounds a bit strange. There is another possibility I can think of. Maybe they got their name because of the little hairs on the surface of the fruit. It looks a bit as if they have goose bumps distributed over the fruit. That could be the explanation of the name but who knows where certain names come from. Well, I think they taste good even if they are a bit sour but gooseberries are great for a cake filling. 


Kiwi

Once upon a time, a kiwi walked through a forest in New Zealand. He walked and walked but it was nice because the weather was sunny and warm. After a while, he got hungry and looked around if he could find anything to eat. Some kiwi fruits hung on a tree close by but they were too high because he wasn’t able to fly. Right then a Kiwi came along, saw the bird looking at the fruits and took some down for the kiwi. The Kiwi smiled and gave the fruits to the bird who ate them right away.


Breakfast

Bella sat at the door and waited impatient for it to open. It was already past the normal hour of breakfast and she was very hungry this morning. She listened for even the smallest sound and after a while, she thought she could hear a distant clattering of metal buckets. Bella sat up straighter and didn’t take her eyes from the door. The clattering came closer and then the moment when her door opened was there. It was Emma’s turn to bring her her breakfast today but she had only eyes for the tasty bananas in Emma’s outstretched hands.


Deep in the forest

Deep in the old forest was a little village but it was no normal village. The little houses in this village were made out of plants and so they looked like something, which would grow out of the ground. In the houses lived fairies and they loved to live there. One of the fairies was called Blueberry. Her skin had the colour of a blueberry and her hair would billow behind her when she flew through the forest. Every evening she danced with the other fairies and you could hear them sing merrily before they went into bed at dawn. 


Buying a suit

“You should take this one, darling,” the woman said to her husband and held another shirt in front of him. “It brings out the colour of your eyes and lets you look younger. Don’t worry you look gorgeous,” she added quickly when she saw the look on her husband’s face. She hurried on, shirt still in hand to find a suit in a matching colour. “What do you think of this one? No, that’s too purple but this one is great, it looks like black currant.” Her husband shook his head. “For me, all of them look black.”


Hiking

“Are you sure, you want to take that path?” Sophie asked when Jack turned left instead of right. She knew exactly that the guy at the information had told them to take the other path because it wasn’t safe. “Yes. Coming?” Andrew glanced over his shoulder and smiled. Soon they were deeper in the forest and it got darker and darker. Sophie threw a worried look back when she heard a stifled cry from Andrew. He sat on the ground and held his head. Beside him was a huge coconut. “I told you, we should take the other way.”


An evening out

Silently, she watched the barman mix her drink and gave him a smile when he placed it in front of her. She didn’t know why she went into this bar today. Maybe it was just because she felt lonely and had no other place to go. She took the first sip of her cocktail and tried to taste the different components in it. There was orange and lemon but she could also taste passion fruit and cherry. When the barman sent her a questioning look, she smiled again and nodded. Maybe it would be a good evening after all.


Talking

Imagine a bowl with different fruits in it. Can you see them when you close your eyes? Good, that’s very good. Now, imagine that the fruits can talk. Can you hear them? What do you think are they saying? Maybe the apple tells the banana that he had a hard day because someone wanted to eat him but then he was put back into the bowl. There is a pomegranate over there. Can you see it? What will the pomegranate say? I can see how it turns around to the apple and says, “Why? Why are you still here?”


When life gives you lemons

Emma was sitting on the couch with her little daughter on her lap. The small girl was crying because her big brother had eaten her ice cream and now there was nothing left. She stroked the hair of her baby girl and waited until she stopped crying. “You know sweetheart, your Granny always says, when life gives you lemons, make some lemonade.” The little girl looked at her with big eyes. “That means when life does not give you what you want make the best of what you get. Go and take a cookie from the jar on the table.”


Healthy

“You have to eat some fruit,” he told her and he saw how she rolled her eyes. “No, really you have to eat some fruit. You are always eating chocolate when you sit in front of the TV and nothing healthy.” He gave her a bowl with pieces of pineapple and other fruits. The only thing she did was looking at him but then she sighed and took a piece of pineapple from the bowl. Then she smiled and put it into her mouth but not without adding some chocolate to the mix. Now it was his turn to sigh.


Tasty

You can do a lot with raspberries. For example, you can use them for baking. I love to bake muffins or things like that and raspberries are great for that. Think of a nice cake with raspberries in it and a chocolate icing. Another thing for which raspberries are great is ice cream, especially vanilla ice cream. You can do many other things with these fruits and there are no limits to your imaginations when you create something tasty. Right now, I can imagine a chocolate fondue and how it would taste if I could dip a raspberry into it.


Unloved fruit

“What have I told you? I know that you can remember exactly what I have told you.” Agitated, the man walked up and down in the room, which looked more like a cave. A slender woman with brown hair leaned against a pillar and just rolled her eyes. She had expected this little speech and so she did not bat an eyelid. “I woke up yesterday and I had this taste in my mouth, the taste of pears. You shouldn’t let me eat pears. I hate pears.” He stopped in front of her but she just smiled at him.


Mango Valley

Have you been to Mango Valley in the country of Marlea yet? It is even better than in Fairyland there and I guess you’ve already been to Fairyland. The valley lies between high mountains and can only be reached by one path. When the mountains open around you, you have to take a deep breath because of all the beauty around you. There are flowers, lakes and rivers and everything is just so green. Don’t forget the mango trees which grow everywhere in the valley and when you breathe deeply you can smell the ripe fruits around you.


Chinese fruits

When you think about Chinese fruits, which one comes to your mind first? Right, lychees. I don’t know if it’s the most famous Chinese fruit but it’s nice too look at with its reddish outside. You can’t just bite into the fruit because it has a pit but the white flesh tastes great. Normally, I don’t eat the fresh fruits because they aren’t always available, but the canned ones. I’ve read that they are very healthy as well because they contain a lot vitamin C. Just try one and see if you like lychees.


Dancer

She looked around the room and took everything in that she could see. People were dancing around her, some slow, some a bit faster and some danced after their own melody. The music circled around her and she could feel the energy pulsing through the room. She followed Danny to a couple of tables and put the melons, which she had carried inside, onto them. When she turned around again, she looked into the eyes of a dark haired man who just looked gorgeous. “Hi! Are you new here?” he asked her and smiled. “I’ve carried a melon inside.”


Summer days

It’s a warm day in late summer and you can smell dry grass in the air. The sun nearly touches the horizon and you close your eyes and let the light wash over your face. After a moment, you hurry on because you know exactly where you want to go. Then you see your special clearing in the woods, which nobody else knows but you. You walk directly to the brambles in front of you and pick some blackberries, which are still warm from the sunshine. With a sigh of delight, you close your eyes and enjoy the taste.


Fruits everywhere

She didn’t want to see fruits anymore. During the last week, she had seen them in all sizes, colours and forms and now she just had enough. It was harvest time in their garden and her mother had made different jams, cakes and what else out of several fruit kinds. Naturally, her mother couldn’t master this undertaking alone and she had to help her in different phases. The only fruits, that were left now where the yellow plums. Right then, she promised herself that she wouldn’t eat any fruits for the next month, just chocolate and sweets.


Silence

The only thing he wanted to do was to enjoy his drink but the man beside him couldn’t stop talking. After a while, Linus stopped listening when the man told him for the third time that his wife had thrown him out of their flat. The man was definitely drunk and when he wanted to order another drink, the barkeeper shook his head and called a taxi. Linus enjoyed the silence for a moment before he took another sip of his drink. Then he put his glass down and watched the calming dance of pieces of lime and ice.


Sky diving

The world around Emma turned slowly upside down when she jumped out of the plane. She could not suppress the scream that left her mouth but it was lost in the whooshing sound of the air around her. Ben was right behind her in the same harness, so she felt save enough when the ground came closer and closer. After several seconds of falling freely through the air, he pulled the cord and the parachute opened. Gently, they floated back to earth and landed in the middle of some orange trees. Emma breathed deeply when her feet touched the ground.


Canapés

“First, you take some cheese and cut it into little cubes. I will show you how to do it,” the cook on the television said. Madison looked at the screen and watched how she should cut the cheese. She wasn’t very good at cooking and so this was all new for her. The cutting of the cheese was easy and the next step shouldn’t be that difficult either. “Now, you take the grapes, put them onto a toothpick and add a cheese cube,” the woman said and that was what Madison did. “Congratulations, you’ve made some canapés.”


Haunting melody

She couldn’t get that song out of her mind. Every time when she was alone in the shop, she started to hum its melody. Other music didn’t help because she always heard the similarities in the songs. It would be a bit embarrassing when a customer would come in and she would hum this song, so she looked at the door from time to time. She had to admit that it was a good song for folding shirts and after a while, she started to sing it aloud. “I remember the day, we met under the cherry tree...”


Apples

“An apple a day keeps the Doctor away,” is an old saying. I really don’t know if it’s true but it can’t hurt to eat an apple a day. Apples are very healthy fruits and you can do a lot with them. You can eat them raw, directly from the apple tree or you can make tasty apple juice out of them. Apples are also great for cakes, pancakes or applesauce. Now I’m feeling a bit hungry after writing so much about apples. So, you see apples are good fruits and maybe they will keep you healthier.


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Thank you so much for your support so far. I really appreciate it.


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