Quite The Pear

The sky is blue. The sun is shining. The grass is green. The air is fresh. Eighteen-year old Ben sits under the pear tree, awaiting the arrival of his best friend John.

This is their favorite spot to hang. Every Summer, it’s been a spot where they can escape from the all of the stresses of the world to just be. Friends since grade three, you could say the two were quite the pair, no pun intended. Nothing in this world could ever break their bond & sour the memories had in these moments under the warmth of their tree. Ben grabs a pear & takes a bite as he waits. Closing his eyes, he savors its sweet taste, basking in the shade of the leaves.

“How did it come to this? After all we’ve been through?” he thinks to himself with a subtle half-smile. Several memories flood through his mind from the time he & John met on the playground to present day. “I mean, one day you’re introducing yourself in socially awkward fashion next to the monkey bars, & the next you’re here, taking it all in.” He looks around at the beauty surrounding him as he takes another bite.

A single discolored leaf falls from the tree above to the ground, upsetting Ben. He sighs. “Summer’s still here.” he says in a relaxed tone. In fact, in this moment, it feels like Summer’s only just begun for him. He dismisses the leaf & indulges in more of his sweet fruit, John still nowhere to be seen. “Summer’s still here.”

Ben closes his eyes again, thinking back to the very first time they discovered the usual spot many years ago. “It’s perfect!” an eleven-year old Ben shouts to the then ten-year old John.

“What’s so perfect about a dumb tree?” asks John.

“The fact that it’s ours! No one can take that away from us!” Ben exclaims.

“Gee, how exciting.” John expresses in a sarcastic tone.

Ben yells at John. “Don’t be such a wet blanket!”

“We’re not even gonna have it for very long, Ben! The season’s almost over!”

Ben lays back with his hands behind his head against the tree in ignorant bliss. “Hey! Summer’s still here! And we’ve got plenty of years to come! Relax, dude!” He raises his eyebrow & gives a John a peer-pressuring look. He then pats the tree with his palm, offering him a seat, as John rolls his eyes.

John sits down next to Ben under the tree & reiterates the sentiment. “Summer’s still here.” The two sit happy, looking out at the open field from under their new safe-haven.

Teardrops begin to fill the current-day Ben’s eyes as he completes his full smile from ear-to-ear. Suddenly, another ugly leaf falls & thunder rolls in the distance. Ben doesn’t seem phased by this. He continues to wait for John & consumes another piece of the juicy pear.

In another memory, teenage John & Ben sit under the tree & talk about what the future has in store for their spot. “You think we’ll ever come here again after high school?” asks Ben. “Like, way down the line, after college even?”

John replies. “There’s no telling, but you never know. That’s so far away though. We gotta just live in the now. Figure out the rest later.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Summer’s still here, ya know.” John expresses with nostalgic enthusiasm. Ben grins. Just then, there begins a heavy rainfall as the two young boys continue to look onward, the many leaves sheltering them from the storm. A pear falls from the tree, ripe as can be, hitting Ben on the head. They have a good laugh together about this & share the fruit. Ever-so naive, they continue to just live in the moment.

The shining twinkle in present Ben’s smile begins to fade into a more sad tone as raindrops begin to fall down heavily from the now-gray skies. The sun is concealed. The grass is browned. The air is cold. All senses of warmth, beauty, & safety are now non-existent. The waterworks beginning to flow down the sides of his face, Ben looks down at his supposed ripe fruit. In all actuality, it is not ripe, nor juicy at all. In fact, it’s rotten to the core it would seem, sour, & expunging a foul aroma into the air. Ben begins to whimper as he stares at the fruit, the rain pouring down, the thunder booming, the leaves dying & falling all around him at a rapid rate. He looks up in agony, but keeps his now forced smile, shaking & crying immensely, hoping he’ll bear witness to John’s presence soon.

Still looking up in bittersweet anguish, Ben’s breaths become shallowed, his back to the wall, as the syringe drains the last bit of “pear” into his system. His throw-over soaked with tears, he takes it all in with one last look at John’s obituary in the paper, the image of a noose hanging from the tree cemented deep in his brain. All of the good memories of hanging under the tree fade. His eyes, now extremely red & bloodshot, close for a final time.

“Summer’s still here, John..….Summer’s still here…..” The October drops of rain continue to crash down against several dead leaves on the sill of his bedroom window. Ben now lays lifeless on his bed, his conclusive moments “under the tree” relieving him of stress once more in death. The thunder cracks. He is gone. Gone to be with John.

QUITE THE PEAR.