Strawberries and Whipped Cream

Chapter 3 - Feuilles (1)

"Look, over there. Ew, how can somebody see that and actually think: yummy, I'm gonna have you for dinner?" I asked and you laughed as I had pointed at the fish in between ice, that stared at us in the frozen shock his sudden death had given him.

I loved to eat fish, I loved all kinds of foods, if they suited my taste, but looking at the dead bodies, I couldn't help but laugh. We had been sent here by Baba to pick out something we would like to eat tonight, since it was her time to go out with friends and feel young again. Even as an eighty-year-old woman, she seemed much fitter and filled with energy than I was and it made me happy for her. And that also meant, that you and I could have this evening to ourselves and cook together and I liked that idea, even if I wasn't the best at preparing any kinds of foods. But for you I would try. I would honestly try.

"Jolie, look" you had said and I turned around to you pointing at two fishes that were laying right behind each other, the tail of the one in the back hugging the other one, that was laying before it so perfectly.

The spooning position these two were in was undeniable and I had to laugh. You too had to giggle and we decided to move on, not sure if fish was the right choice for us unexperienced cooks. The market was rather big and we had all day to get what we wanted, so we weren't in a hurry to just pick something that looked alright and get the bus back home; we could explore the market and see what we could find.

"Oh, watch out Camille! Let's not lose each other in here" I had said as the people pushed past and in between us, cursing our existence, since they were in a hurry and needed to get to their destination as quickly as possible.

In the end all they needed to do, was to push people away. And so I reached for your hand, holding it so especially I wouldn't get lost, since I had forgotten which bus we had to take to get back home and I wouldn't know what I would do, if I would suddenly not see you next to me anymore. Would I feel like a child, that had lost their mother in the supermarket? Maybe, but then again, when I was little, I liked to let myself fall into that helpless Pit and not even try to get out. When I didn't see my mother around, while I was looking at the chocolate section, I already imagined how my life would be, now that I had to live in the supermarket.

How I would spend the holidays with the employees there and celebrate my birthday. Where I would sleep and how my life would forever only exist in these four walls, now that I had lost my mother. Would I too imagine my life on this market, if I had lost you? Maybe, but if I did, I would probably find a seat by the side, resting there and waiting for you to return, so you could pull me up and guide me through the crowd. What was it with places to shop at, that made me feel so helpless? After all it was me, holding onto you and letting you guide us through the mass of people yelling over prices and family business and gossip. 

This was a place where strangers met neighbors and friends, where everybody knew each other even if they didn't, but something about buying food at the local market seemed to bind these people together and yet turn them against each other if the time would come. And you held my hand, a little more loosely than I clung onto yours, but it made me feel comfortable, since it wasn't a tight clutch or a sign of discomfort. We walked through the market and made a halt at all kinds of stands, like one that sold rather cheap jewelry or one that was selling all kinds of sunglasses right next to the patisserie and the cheese stand. One sold soap, a specialty of the region and you lifted one to your face, inhaling the scent, smiling before you handed it to me.

"Here. It's so calming; it almost makes you forget all of the noise around us" you had said and I took a whiff of the lavender scented bar of soap.

I loved how it tickled in my nose and soothed my lungs and chest, as well as my mind. I wanted to take it home and so I bought it, before we continued our stroll through the market.