Raisins are Dead

this is for hannah. there was a point to this story. it's like there is a reoccurring metaphor or something... idk. just... enjoy i guess.



Sadie was walking through her favorite market in Florence. Allesia had already bought the groceries, but as usual, she forgot Sadie's raisins. Since this was normally the case, Sadie took her usual route through the narrow alleys to the end of the marketplace where she stopped at Fredrigo's.
"Good afternoon, Miss Sadie," Fredrigo said almost without an accent. This phrase had almost become a part of his daily routine. "How are you today?"
"I think I am okay."
"Buono. Miss Sadie."
"Mr. Fredrigo?"
"Hm?"
"Tell me something new, Fredrigo."
"Like what? What would you like to know?"
"I want to know something about you. Like, what you were like as a kid."
"Miss Sadie. I was very different than you are. I was very rebellious, very hot-headed, you might say."
"Oh. Your wife, Fredrigo. What was she like?"
"She was very much like you, Miss Sadie. Very quiet, calm. She copes the way that you do. I see a lot of her in you."
"Is this why you are so nice to me?"
"It could be. But also, I see something good in you, something special. It's like, the first time I saw you, I knew I would like you very much."
"Oh."
"Yes."
"So your grapes, is there a secret? You grow them yourself, right?"
"Yes, I do grow them. I have a small vineyard in my yard. It's almost a secret."
"I'd like to see. Can I come see sometime?"
"Sure, Miss Sadie, if that's what you want."
"It is, I would like that very much."
"Okay, then, it's set."
"Okay. You know what?"
"What is that?"
"I used to like grapes. But now I really don't too much. That's odd isn't it?"
"Yes, I guess it is rather odd. Considering how much you like these raisins."
"Yes, I'm not sure why I'm so prejudiced against them, but I guess I am."
"Why is a grape so bad in your perspective?"
"They're just so plump, and pretty, and just all around good."
"I guess I've never thought of it that way."
"Nobody ever has." Sadie turned and looked past the stand that sold bell peppers, olives, and tomatoes at the flowing brownish-bluish waters of the river. Couples in gondolas floated by, the glare of the sun on the water was hypnotizing. Fredrigo looked at her and smiled, drawing memories from the back of his mind.
"So why is it Sadie," she turned back around to look at him, "that I get the feeling that you are sick? And tired of all of this?" He pulled out a bundle of grapes and placed them on top of the counter.
"It's not so much that I'm sick of it, I'm just ready for it to be over and to go away for good. It's terrifying."
"Is it? It doesn't have to be."
Sadie looked at him. She didn't have to say any words; her eyes asked the question for her.
"You don't have to keep doing this. There are other places to go. You have the whole world at your fingertips."
"Oh, do I? It's not like I can just get on a plane and go back. Not that I would even if I could. And I can't just go anywhere else in the world. There are limitations you know."
He didn't need to say anything. She could argue with herself, and she would get it.
He was right. After about 15 minutes of Sadie pacing and glancing out over the river she came back to him.
"Well, where should I go?"
"Wherever you want. This is your life."
The bell rang in the old clock tower across town.
"Well would you look at that. It’s 4 o'clock already."
"Oh! I have to go! Bye, and thank you!"
He watched her run off. She stopped after about thirty feet, then ran back to him.
"Can I have a bundle of grapes?"
He handed the bundle that was on the counter to her with a smile and a nod before she ran off again.