Unexpected Souvenir

Romano Mochi

You've always been a warm weather kind of girl. You love the summer and spending time under the sun. The Mediterranean seemed like the perfect place to go for vacation, so when you were offered the chance, you snapped it up in a hurry. It's a decision you're never going to regret.

Italy is a beautiful country full of rich culture and the warm weather you love. The sea breeze that sweeps over the country brings with it a slight humidity, which adds to the amazing atmosphere of the place. You wish you could never leave.

You had spent the first week of your trip in the northern half of the country. It was a week full of touring famous sites and eating lots of pasta. The people were very friendly, especially when they found out you're a tourist. You're now spending a week in the southern half of the country where the weather is a little hotter, but that's the way you like it. Unlike the northern half, the southern half of Italy has a lot of agriculture. That's why you're visiting a small farm today.

There was an advertisement in a tourist newspaper for tours around a local farm. You say farm, but it's more like an orchard than anything from the looks of it. You got a ride from a kind man with a rickety little truck, and you're just seeing the farm now for the first time. There are so many trees surrounding the sides and back of the house that it seems as if the house is some kind of intruder in this grove of trees.

You look around for a sign that someone is at the farm, but it looks really quiet. It's actually quite beautiful in its own way. Grape vines creep up the red walls of the house and are heavily laden with red grapes. You fight the urge to pick a couple as you approach the house, but in the end you grab a couple and pop them in your mouth. They won't miss a couple grapes. A couple of really good grapes.

Sweet tartness bursts in your mouth as you chew each grape slowly. You've never tasted grapes this good in your life. You pick a few more and savor them as you walk up to the front door. There's no doorbell or anything, so you knock on the door tentatively. You wait, but no one answers.

"Odd," you mumble before eating a few more grapes. You're going to have to get away from the house or you'll eat all of the grapes within your reach.

You decide to walk to the rear of the house and see if the owner is back there. A breeze ripples through the trees next to the house, and you see the branches swaying under the weight of bright yellow lemons. You tuck some stray hair behind your ear as you take a closer look at the trees surrounding the house. The ones on this side look like lemon trees, but the ones further toward the back of the house look different.

Your curiosity gets the best of you, and you jog over to the other trees. The fruit hanging from these trees aren't like anything you've ever seen before. They smell familiar, but you can't quite put your finger on it.

"Figs?" you wonder.

You lose interest in the trees when you remember what you came back here to accomplish in the first place. A quick glance around the backyard makes it apparent the owner isn't here either. What you do find is a lovely little vegetable garden surrounded by a white picket fence. You find the gate on the fence and let yourself into the garden. There are row after row of tall tomato plants thriving in the dark, rich soil.

One plant in particular catches your eye, and you walk toward it excitedly. A very large, red, juicy looking tomato hangs precariously from a thin branch of the plant. It would be a shame if it were to fall, you tell yourself as you prepare to pick it. If the tomato is anything like the other things growing on the farm, it'll be the best tasting tomato you've ever had. Your hand reaches out to pluck the shining tomato when a loud voice scares the crap out of you.

"Hey, you! Who do you think you are?"

You turn around to see a round, white object with a curl hanging off its left side glaring at you from the entrance to the garden. Several thoughts and questions bounce around in your head, and you're not sure which to voice first.