dear doctor: there’s a nausea that comes after eating. almost every time. it comes together with an uncontrollable panic of a sort i’ve never experienced before. there is a little bubble under my chest that squirts out little bursts of adrenaline– i can feel it spurt directly into my heart. my mind goes blind, and i become deathly thirsty. yes, i’ve tried drinking water. uh huh. uh huh. i see. okay, well, okay, then i’ll try drinking more water. opioid? i don’t really need…. uh, okay. thank you. the pharmacy is next door? alright. so my bill is– hm. okay. right, thank you. yup. thanks.
Juice drips sticky from the oranges, face down on the tray, leaving circles on the wax paper. I pull off my gloves and wash my hands, quickly dry on brown paper towel, and slip on another pair of gloves, and turn to the bread.
He stared at the word for the longest time, thinking of all the learning he’d done.
“Ju-ice,” he proclaimed proudly.
“Good try, but no, it’s juice, “joo-ss”,” his teacher corrected and his heart sank. He’d never get the hang of this!
The juice flowed out of the machine. The children watched it flow into the glass, and then they watch the foreigner pick up the glass and drink it. Even though they tracked him with their eyes, he didn’t seem to notice or even think of offering any. When he put down the glass and walked away, the children ran to grab it and taste the remaining drops in the glass.
Chanpheng
The sun was suffocating in it’s embrace, every inch sweltering to a crisp, only to be satiated by the fresh burst of a fruit’s gift.
dear doctor: there’s a nausea that comes after eating. almost every time. it comes together with an uncontrollable panic of a sort i’ve never experienced before. there is a little bubble under my chest that squirts out little bursts of adrenaline– i can feel it spurt directly into my heart. my mind goes blind, and i become deathly thirsty. yes, i’ve tried drinking water. uh huh. uh huh. i see. okay, well, okay, then i’ll try drinking more water. opioid? i don’t really need…. uh, okay. thank you. the pharmacy is next door? alright. so my bill is– hm. okay. right, thank you. yup. thanks.
Juice drips sticky from the oranges, face down on the tray, leaving circles on the wax paper. I pull off my gloves and wash my hands, quickly dry on brown paper towel, and slip on another pair of gloves, and turn to the bread.
He stared at the word for the longest time, thinking of all the learning he’d done.
“Ju-ice,” he proclaimed proudly.
“Good try, but no, it’s juice, “joo-ss”,” his teacher corrected and his heart sank. He’d never get the hang of this!
The juice flowed out of the machine. The children watched it flow into the glass, and then they watch the foreigner pick up the glass and drink it. Even though they tracked him with their eyes, he didn’t seem to notice or even think of offering any. When he put down the glass and walked away, the children ran to grab it and taste the remaining drops in the glass.
The sun was suffocating in it’s embrace, every inch sweltering to a crisp, only to be satiated by the fresh burst of a fruit’s gift.