Oranges

River licked the juice off her fingers and smiled. She tried to think back to the last time she tasted the sweet fruit. It must have been … the Christmas she was seven. Was it really that long ago? It was the year Simon received his first medical textbook. River appreciated the gift even more than her brother had. Despite her young age, she liked knowing how the human body worked. The duo spent many sunny afternoons laying in the grass and pouring over the dense pages.

Back in the present, she placed her hand on her stomach, trying to recall the process by which the orange made its way inside of her. Chew, swallow, digest, exit. "Bones grind, rip, tear, and soften. Goes away and then comes back." She muttered under her breath.

Jayne shot her a quizzical look, then shrugged. "Crazy. She's psycho."

River seemed not to hear; absorbed in making sure her mouth got every morsel of the delicious fruit. In a few minutes, there was a pile of orange peels on the floor next to where she was sitting cross-legged. With a belly full of sun, she stood up and gave a little bow in the direction of the giver of this wonderful gift.

"Well gosh, girlie. It's just an orange." Jayne said. But it was much more than that to River. It was a memory of a happier time. She did a little half-skip half-mambo down the hallway to her room. "Wait!" Jayne cried. "You left yer- oh never mind." He scooted his chair away from the table and stooped over the pick up the pile of peels. He shooed away those tiny fruit flies that are somehow always present, even in deep space. Throwing the peels away, he dusted off his hands. Jayne wondered if River really had forgotten the peels, or if she was actually just trying to manipulate him into doing it for her. He decided it must be the latter and corrected his earlier judgment with "Not just psycho. Sneaky too." Down the hall, he swore he could hear her giggle.