Chapter 12: King of Fruits
August 14th
Pescara Air Base
Gerhard's POV
I was in the common room, reading the newspaper while Peter was writing in his journal, Franz was reading a book when I heard someone enter the room.
"Ha-ha! Today is a good day!" Amirul smiled as he entered the room. Amirah was in tow and she too was in high spirits. They had a very durable looking bag with them.
"Oh, how did?-MEIN GOTT! What the fuck is that smell?" I asked.
"Oh, that must this" Amirul said as he pulled out a large green fruit which was riddled with thorns.
"Fuck, are you sure, that is not an oversized grenade?" Peter asked.
"What is it and does it stinks so badly?" Franz asked with his nose pinched.
"Oh this, my friends is a durian, a native fruit from where I came from and I see that in this world, this is still the king of fruits" Amirul smiled.
"Then why the fuck does it smell so bad?" I asked as I had the paper to my face to filter the smell but it was too strong.
"Well, it was so to keep hungry animals at bay but they still come" Amirah said. Just then Katherine, Wolf, Minna, Gertrude, Erich and Erica entered the room.
"What is that smell?" Wolf asked.
"That is from Amirul's fruit, the durian" I pointed to the offender.
"What's a durian?" Erich asked.
"Well, it is this" Amirul picked up the fruit and showed them.
"Is that a fruit?" Erich asked.
"Yes, it is commonly found in South East Asia" Amirah said.
"How do you eat it?" Minna asked.
"Well, you have to open the spiky tough shell first" Amirul answered as he placed the fruit down and left the common room.
"Where are you heading?" Gertrude asked.
"The kitchen, I need a meat cleaver" Amirul smiled.
"A meat cleaver?" Gertrude asked, the colour in her face drained away.
"Just wait" Amirul said as he left the room.
"Don't forget the other ones" Amirah called out.
"Tak akan lupa" Amirul shouted back.
"So, I take it you like the fruit?" Wolf asked.
"Yes, I love this fruit and once you have a taste, you will see why" Amirah asked.
"Who the hell are you killing with that?" I could hear Muto's voice.
"I just want to open a fruit that is all" Amirul reentered the room with a meat cleaver and a large bag.
"This I want to see" Muto said.
"What fruit is this?" Lily asked.
"A durian, well actually some durians" Amirul answered.
"YES!" Lily cheered.
"I take it you like durians" Muto smiled.
"I love durians!" Lily said.
"Well, you are in luck; we have a few durians from the market in Pescara" Amirah said.
"Hey, I want some too!" Amy said.
"Alright, let me open it up" Amirul said as he took the knife and cuts the shell. I watched as he carefully opened the fruit to reveal a number of golden insides. However my nose had enough of it so I decided that I would leave the room.
Amirul's POV
I watched as Gerhard, Peter, Gertrude and Franz leave the room most likely from the smell. Anyway the rest stayed. I cracked the durian open to reveal the bright yellow flesh wrapped seeds that was inside.
"Wow, they look excellent; you have a keen eye, Amir" Amirah said.
"After a while, you know how to choose" I smiled. I then picked out a flesh and handed it to Minna, "Here commander, you get the first flesh"
"Thank you" Minna said before she bit into it. I saw her face stretch into a smile, "Wow this is quite an extraordinary taste"
"Glad, you like it, commander" Amirah said.
"Nak!" Amy and Lily extended their hands.
"Here you go" I said as I gave them one flesh each. They immediately began munching.
"Wah! So good! Thanks Amir" Amy smiled.
"Even here, durian taste awesome" Lily smiled.
"Hey, can I get a bit?" Muto asked.
"Why sure" I said as I gave him one. He took a bit.
"Damn, I can see why you guys like it" Muto grinned.
"Well, there is more from where that came from" I said as I toppled a bag over to reveal the content.
"Wow that is a lot of durians" Katherine said. I opened three durians and they were clean by the time dinner came. We happily sat in the common room eating durian until the late afternoon. We also joined by Amelia, Emily, Sanya, Lydia, Dimitri, Angela, Rommel, Hiroyoshi, Yoshiko, William, Charles, Franco, Francesca, Riki, Reina, Gregory, Georgina, Charlie, Ben, and Henry. It was a great durian eating session. However not everyone on base were amused. The base for a few days ended up smelling like durians. I remember hearing Perrine and Pierre fainted from the smell while Mio was very dizzy whenever she walked the corridors. Shirley and Chuck, let's just say Francesca and Franco had to sleep in the common room for a few nights.