When persimmons ripened

As Frost's Descent approached, autumn deepened in Whitebank Town.

The morning and evening breezes carried a cool dampness, leaving even the flagstones in the alleys moist.

Almost without anyone noticing, the old persimmon tree in Grandma's courtyard had filled with little orange-red lanterns. They were crisp persimmons, small and thin-skinned, with crunchy flesh.

Early Sunday morning, Li Suhua was already busy beneath the tree, standing on a stool.

"Yu, pass me that basket!"

Although Li Suhua had long suffered from rheumatism in her legs, she was still deft at her work. She carefully selected the plump, round persimmons with smooth, unblemished skins and placed them in a large bamboo basket.

"Heavy rain's coming in a few days. We'd better pick them and take them to the market soon."

Grandma muttered as she picked, "The rest might look a bit misshapen, but they're just as sweet. We'll keep those for ourselves."

Pu Yu helped catch the fruit below, her head tilted back. Sunlight filtered through the sparse leaves onto her face, making her squint.

"Grandma, we can't finish all these."

"Who said you had to eat them all yourself?" Grandma gave her a look and pointed at another small pile. "Take those to school. Wash them and share them with your classmates, especially that girl called Sui Sui. She's sincere, and she's a good friend to you."

Pu Yu smiled shyly. "Okay. Thank you, Grandma."

She carefully picked out a dozen or so persimmons, washed them, then wiped them dry with a clean cloth. She packed the ones for Sui Sui separately from those for her other classmates and put them in her schoolbag.

The next morning, the classroom rang with voices reading aloud.

As soon as the morning reading session ended, Pu Yu took out the persimmons.

"Sui Sui, these are for you."

Xu Suiran was still wrestling with her English vocabulary. The sight of the golden-orange persimmons instantly lit up her eyes. "Wow! Are these from that persimmon tree at your house?! Last time I went over, I tried to sneak a couple to taste, and Grandma Li gave me a proper scolding. Hahaha."

"They were still really astringent then. They're just right now."

After saying that, Pu Yu glanced at the class monitor beside Xu Suiran, who was working on a test paper. She rarely interacted with him, but since he was Sui Sui's deskmate, she would probably need to ask him questions sooner or later, so she offered Song Jinnian one too.

Song Jinnian paused. He hadn't intended to have any, but at the sight of Xu Suiran beside him with her cheeks bulging, he found himself reaching out to accept it. "Thank you."

Xu Suiran took a huge bite and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. "Ooh! It's so sweet! I feel like I could devour all of these!"

Pu Yu smiled, then took the bag around to share with a few girls at the desks in front and behind her whom she got along with.

"Wow, Pu Yu, you're so nice!"

"Did you grow these persimmons at home?"

"They look so good..."

Sharing something delicious seemed to bring classmates who had been somewhat distant much closer together.

Everyone chatted and laughed, and a faint fruity fragrance filled the air.

The first lesson was math.

Yuan Su came in with the math teacher. He had lost two points on a major question in the last exam for skipping steps, and whenever Teacher Ge caught him, he would lecture him about it. By now, he must have repeated himself nearly twenty times.

"Have you learned your lesson? Don't skip steps again next time! What a waste!"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."

Yuan Su gave a perfunctory reply, then strode toward the back row.

He pulled out his chair and sat down. Just as he was about to tuck his schoolbag into the desk compartment, he spotted two plump, round orange fruits inside.

Yuan Su paused and turned his head.

Pu Yu was looking at him, her bright eyes seeming to hold the autumn sunshine outside the window.

"They're from our tree at home. They're really sweet."

The boy looked at the persimmons, then at Pu Yu, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, bribing me to help you with questions?"

"...It's not a bribe."

Pu Yu pressed her lips together in embarrassment and explained quietly, "Grandma asked me to bring them to school to share with my classmates. Everyone's had some."

Yuan Su glanced toward Xu Suiran, who was still sneaking bites of her persimmon in the front row.

"No, thanks."

He paused, then added, "I don't like them."

Looking at the slightly hard lines of his profile, Pu Yu thought for a moment before saying softly:

"If you don't want them, you could take them home for your mom. These crisp persimmons have a really nice texture. They're not cloying."

Silence settled between them for a few seconds.

Yuan Su lowered his eyes. It had been a long time since he had heard anyone around him refer to his mother so politely. More often, he heard "that gambler's wife," "lunatic," or "psycho."

Several seconds passed, and just when Pu Yu thought he would refuse again-

His long-fingered hand suddenly reached out, stiffly stuffing the persimmons into the side pocket of his schoolbag.

"...Okay."

He finally answered, his voice as faint as a sigh. "Thank you."

Pu Yu blinked, then her eyes curved into a bright, unclouded smile. "You're welcome."

The town clinic.

On the second floor, at the end of the corridor.

Occasional muffled murmurs or screams drifted from the other wards.

Lu Zhen sat on the edge of the bed, holding a somewhat faded photo album, her vacant gaze fixed on the leaves swaying outside the window.

Even in blue-and-white striped hospital clothes, even with her hair slightly disheveled, nothing could conceal her innate cool elegance and beauty.

Back when most people didn't even know what wedding portraits were, Lu Zhen had been the first woman in town to take her husband to have Western-style wedding photos taken.

In those days, she had worn a white wedding dress and smiled like a lily in full bloom.

Yuan Su still remembered how particular his mother had been when he was little, before everything went wrong at home.

She had a specific glass for drinking water, her clothes had to be neatly ironed, and even apples had to be peeled, cut into pretty little pieces, and served with toothpicks.

"Mom."

Yuan Su called to her softly.

Lu Zhen slowly turned her head, a dazed smile appearing on her face. "Su?"

"Mm."

Yuan Su pulled up a chair beside the bed and took the two washed persimmons and a small fruit knife out of his schoolbag. With his head lowered, he deftly turned the knife in his hand.

A thin ribbon of orange peel trailed down without breaking.

Once he had peeled the fruit, he cut it into small pieces, inserted toothpicks, and placed it within his mother's reach.

"We have persimmons today."

Lu Zhen tasted a piece, then suddenly looked up, her eyes widening with delight. "It's so sweet... Where did you buy these?"

Yuan Su's hands paused.

He said quietly, "A classmate gave them to me."

Lu Zhen's chewing slowed.

Since the upheaval in their family, as far as her unreliable memory could tell her, Yuan Su hadn't mentioned the word "classmate" in a very long time.

A flicker of curiosity crossed Lu Zhen's eyes, and she asked softly, "What sort of classmate? What's her name?"

The ward was utterly quiet, save for the occasional sound of wind outside.

Only after a long while did Yuan Su speak softly:

"Pu Yu."

His voice was low, yet unusually clear.

"Her name is Pu Yu."

Lu Zhen froze for a moment, murmuring the name to herself. "Pu Yu..."

Her brows furrowed slightly, as though a fine thread buried deep in the past had received a gentle tug.

But the feeling vanished in an instant, swallowed once more by the fog in her mind.

She couldn't remember.

Lu Zhen shook her head and gave up trying. Instead, she looked at Yuan Su with tenderness and hope. "Is she good to you?"

The image rose in Yuan Su's mind of that girl, always so gentle and unhurried, yet brave enough to argue his case in the office and approach him again and again when everyone else avoided him.

He lowered his eyes, hiding the emotion in them.

"Yes."

"Very good."