Mango-Scented Memory
by Aliza Susatijo
I’m glad the weather’s getting warmer, soon it’ll be mango season.
Oh! Mangoes are my favorite fruit – they’re just so difficult to peel and slice.
You should meet my mom. She’s somehow always able to cut them without wasting any of the flesh. Literally the embodiment of “zero waste.”
You’re lucky someone’s there to do it for you. I couldn’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve nicked myself while trying to peel a mango.
Yea, I think it was how my mom showed affection, every once in a while she even arranges it in cute shapes.
Huh. I can’t remember my mom ever doing anything like that for me…
Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to boast about it or anything.
It’s ok…I know my mom loves me, it's just something that I have to feel rather than see. Plus, it’s not like a plate of sliced mango would change me on a fundamental level.
Still, it feels nice knowing someone prepared the mango with you in mind.
I guess I’ll never know…
Honestly, sometimes I worry that because it’s so common for me, I take an act of love like this for granted. I’m not even sure I can cut a mango, I've just been so reliant on my mom being there to hand me a plate of sliced mangoes in the shape of a cat.
You know, I could teach you if you wanted. Maybe once you realize how difficult it is to cut a mango, you’ll be able to appreciate the tiny acts more.
I think I might take you up on that offer…but only if you promise to bandage me up everytime I cut my fingers.
Of course, I promise to always heal any of your mango-related wounds. Besides, I wouldn’t want to eat bloodstained mangoes. Although, I don’t think I can teach you to cut them as clean as your mom can.
That’s ok, I don’t even think it’s humanly possible to cut a mango as clean as my mother. But I’ll practice enough that I can get close. Hopefully you don’t get sick of mangoes by the end of all my training though.
Mangoes from you? I don’t think I could ever eat enough—but it might help if you arranged them in shapes.
Hey! Slow down, I could maybe try a blob.
For you, however, I’ll try.
Aliza Susatijo is a first year at UVA planning on majoring in International Relations with an English minor. She loves to embroider, explore the aisles of bookstores, and constantly reorganize her playlists on Spotify!
