The Great Pink Grapefruit

The golden light of the Californian morning sun played delicately through the translucent citrus leaves, casting dappled shadows across Maria's busy hands. The rungs of the wooden ladder, worn smooth over the years, were pressing into her soles, and the basket weighed heavily on her shoulders. Suddenly she froze, her eyes fixed on a site that caused her brows to furrow. The grapefruit she held slipped a little as her fingers slackened in distraction. She dug her nails in at the last minute, and caught it, making slight dents in its waxy surface. Absent-mindedly she reached over her shoulder and let it roll into the basket while she continued to gaze into the foliage that surrounded her head. There, in front of her, halo'd in sunlight, was the largest grapefruit she had ever seen. The size was not the only astounding attribute; the main cause of her fascination was the bright pearlescent glow that seemed to suffuse the skin with yellowish light. It was as though, on that one branch, out of the thousands on that one humble tree, out of the thousands in the hundred acre orchard, hung the very sun itself. She positioned herself carefully at the top of the ladder and reached out towards the huge golden orb. She only realised the true size of the thing as her fingers touched it; it dwarfed her hand entirely. As she touched the smooth skin she let out a surprised gasp as an electric tingle passed through her fingers and up her arm. "Ayyy!" she exclaimed, without having meant to. She withdrew her hand and began to descend the ladder, to where her Grandfather stood in the dewy grass beneath her. "What's wrong, Maria?" her Grandfather asked. She faltered. She felt that perhaps the giant grapefruit was something she should keep to herself, though she couldn't say why. "A splinter," she lied. She feigned picking it out, then climbed back up the ladder and carried on picking, though she could barely tear her eyes from the gargantuan fruit.

That night, she slithered out of her bedroom window and down the branches of the tree in her front garden. She carried a torch to light her way back to the orchard. She wanted another look at the grapefruit. When she was barely even half-way there, she saw an orange glow amidst the dark mass of leaves. She knew what it was immediately. She turned off her torch and followed the light of the giant grapefruit.

When she reached the tree, she gasped. The grapefruit was larger and more beautiful than she had remembered it; it filled the whole tree, and all its leaves, with its golden, peachy light. It seemed to be swelling before her eyes. In fact, it was...

It was getting bigger, and bigger; bending leaves and twigs around it out of its way. It began to pulsate and it glowed brighter, like fire, and suddenly, it burst. Maria brought her arms up sharply to protect her face; now they dripped with grapefruit juice. She was covered in it. Slowly she lowered her arms and looked back up at where the giant grapefruit had been.

 In its place, and all around it, a swarm of golden fireflies danced. They had been spewed from the grapefruit like sparks from a pine wood bonfire, and for a few moments, they spiralled in the air and wove around branches. Then they dissipated, and drifted away, and Maria was left in darkness.