The Love That Started With a Persimmon

Ch. 1: Kindness starts all sorts of things

It happened years ago, and yet it still feels like it happened yesterday. The day that it all started. The day that I met him, the day that I started to realize that kindness existed in the world. The day that I first ate a persimmon, and most importantly the day that would later make me fall in love. For this is my story of hate, betrayal, kindness, and love that all start because of a persimmon. 

A skinny, frail, small girl who was I sat against the pristine white wooden fence along the empty road that led to the house I went to that day to ask for food, but like all the rest they just mocked me and turned me away. Then after that my day got even worse as the cold, bitter rain started to hit my face as if it were mocking me for still being alive. I ignored it, just like how everyone ignored me after my family died and I lost everything. I looked up at the sky, not caring about anything or anyone anymore, not even my own life. All I could do at this point was ask myself, "Is there anyone in this world who has kindness in their hearts," as I thought about this and all the people that I begged if they would give me some food over the past few weeks, how not even one of them said yes. As I was thinking about all the terrible things that had happened to me in the last few months and about everything that I had lost, a boy that looked a little bit older than I walked up to me holding something in his hand. I hoped that it was not something that he'd throw at me.

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. I saw that he was tall and skinny but had a couple of muscles. When I raised my head and looked up at the boy he blushed, then handed me an orange looking fruit that was very soft. Once I held the fruit in my hand, he said in a shaky, nervous voice, "h-hello, My name is Charlie. Charlie Leonard. Nice to meet you."

"What is this? Some underripe tomato?" I asked as I examined it. I looked up at his pale face with my dull, empty eyes, seeing how flustered the boy in front of me was.

"It's actually a persimmon." The boy named Charlie Leonard half mumbled while he nervously played with his hands and looked at the ground.

"Looks like a tomato to me," I said, the coldness in my voice almost too clear, "What is this for anyway?"

"Well I noticed you were asking my mother for food earlier, so I brought you a ripe persimmon," Charle proudly announced to her as I cheerful smile grew on his face.

"Is that why it's so squishy," I asked with not a bit of confusion in my voice.

"Yup! That's just how ripe persimmons are. Now come on, come on. Let's go! let's gooo!" Charlie excitedly said as he held out his hand to me, looking like he was trying not to bounce all over the place.

"To where," I asked slightly tilting my head as I calmly eat the persimmon, the juice from the fruit getting everywhere.

"To my house of course! I could never let a pretty girl like you suffer this way. Oh! Before I forget, what is this pretty girls name? I've told you mine so you should tell me yours," Charlie exclaimed, smiling so brightly that I couldn't look him in the eye as a slight blush appeared on my face. He grabbed my hand pulled me up and started to lead me down the road with the white fence to go to his house.

"It's Shizi," I spoke quietly, almost like a mouse as I looked at the boy named Charlie who was the only one to ever show me such warm kindness and to drag me off into a new amazing life. At that moment the warmth of his hand and his cheerful smile made the cold rain seem to melt away. It was then when I finally said the words that I was terrified that I would never say again, "thank you."