My Durian

My favourite strawberries are the ones I get to taste three times, which is even more than those who can feast with their eyes. My first taste is when I walk into the market, the wonderful fresh aroma has been growing for some time, calling to me from across the city. So eager for the delicious fruit I always bump into the stall. The strawberry farmer gives his usual laugh “I should start putting a cushion there for you.” He never does. I laugh and he hands over the delicately wrapped and precious cargo. Our little dance, I reach forward and he takes the note from my hand putting the correct amount of change straight back into it. “Enjoy.” “I will!”

I slow my journey home only to buy chocolate, some cheese and a punnet of roses for my vase. For each of these things the smellier the better. When I get home I am allowed my second taste, which is of course the unwrapping of the my bounty. Like an explosion the fresh sweetness fills the room and I breath it in deep. The third and final tasting is slowly placing each strawberry, one by one, in my mouth and squeezing its delicious juice down my throat. I know more than most that if it tastes sweet it smells sweet too.

There is one exception though, specifically the durian fruit, breaking one of those open is like cracking open a sewage pipe and pumping it straight up your nostrils. It’s like a month old egg that’s been dropped in a swamp. Imagine a tuna sandwich with a healthy garnish of sweat. It’s repugnant and grotesque, right up until the moment you put it in your mouth. It melts almost immediately, and coats your tongue like a thick healthy custard. And the taste; otherworldly, it’s vanilla and caramel and white chocolate all wrapped in one. Just like my little Durian.

“You don’t want him, he’s got a gammy eye, his face is all squished and his tail is lopsided.” That’s what the lady at the kennel said, as I was holding him in my arms. I’m still not sure what gammy means but to this day I still don’t care. With my hand under his body I could feel his happy little heartbeat. It sounded just like my sisters heart use to when her latest crush walked into the room. I didn’t care if Durian stunk on the outside I knew he was loyal and loving and beautiful to me.

Of course I am sure I get occasional odd looks when I shout his name in the park, but I’ve always considered it a blessing that I never notice them. They say dogs look like they’re owners, I wouldn’t know, but I guess the two of us are a little alike. On the outside I must look pretty vulnerable, a so called ‘disabled’ young woman walking through the streets with nothing but a stick, a box of strawberries and a tiny dog. I never know who is looking my way, who might consider me an easy mark.

The first I knew about it was the sound of breaking glass, I awoke and slowly felt my way downstairs. “Oh look fresh strawberries, don’t mind if I do.” 

“Hello” “Who‘s there?”

Silence.

Then his voice was right in my ear, “There you are.”

“What do you want?” It was painful to me how shaky my voice was.

“I want you, and I’m going to have you.”

I tried to run but his arm was already around me. I’ve had some self defence classes in the past but honestly what good is that? You try and defend yourself against someone you can’t see. My feeble attempts only resulted in me getting smacked in the face and thrown to the floor. 

“I can do whatever I want to you and there is nothing you can do about it. What’s better is I don’t even need to blindfold you first!”

I screamed but nothing changed, he shoved something in my mouth and his hands began their descent. His excited greedy breathing deafening to me.

Through the fear I heard another noise, a faint barking growing louder. It was little Durian, somewhere by my feet he seemed to be jumping from side to side barking at strange intervals. My attacker stopped momentarily to see what was making the noise. Suddenly Durian stopped moving and barked repeatedly, and I realised what he was doing. I raised my foot and kicked hard, aiming toward the barking. I kicked the man straight in the stomach. He groaned in pain but Durian jumped to the right and barked again. So I kicked again, this time landing the blow on his rib cage. One last time Durian moved a little to the side and I am sure I heard in his bark “just a little higher mum.” Full force my foot collided with his nose, the sickening crunch told me I had broken it. I crawled backwards and made a run for the door. His hand grabbed my shoulder, but it was his turn to scream. Durian sank his teeth into the man’s leg, I turned around felt my leg between his, instinct brought my knee straight up into his crotch. He hunched over and I shoved him as hard as I could away from me. The sound of broken glass and water spilling across the floor, bastard broke my vase. 

I shot out the door slamming it behind me and sprinted across my garden to the neighbour’s house, thankfully there were no unexpected objects in my way. They keep a spare key in a fake rock, I’m sure it looks real but it feels like plastic. So I easily break into their house and lock the door shut behind me before collapsing onto the floor so breathless I can barely manage to cry out for help. Durian licks my face to see if I am okay.

My neighbours were a little shocked at first, within moments they had called the police and led me into their kitchen to check me over. They even let me stay with them for the night, after the police had come and gone. When they checked my house there was no sign of my attacker. Everyone was angry that they thought the man would get away with it, after all how I would be able to identify him even if the police did find him, but little Durian had already thought of that. You see the next day when a broken nosed man checked himself into hospital, he was found to have a bite mark on his leg that exactly matched the bite of one very ugly looking pug.

I don’t care that not everything that tastes sweet also smells sweet. I don’t care that my Durian has a gammy eye or a lopsided tail. He saved my life and that makes him far more beautiful than even the best strawberry.