Mister Yehumi

The day I met Mister Yehumi I knew we were going to get on well. We
walked to his hut along a muddy track in the rain, I could see the
window that I knew was to be my bedroom far away on the horizon.

'I hope you like walking' he said to me and smiled, displaying his
perfect white teeth which looked all the more pristine on his dirty
face.
'I like walking very much Mister Yehumi.'
'Every morning we walk to the river to collect water. We walk from our
hut to the farmland every day to work. Tomorrow you will walk more than
you walked for an entire month in your country. Do you have strong
legs?'
'Yes Mister Yehudi.'
'Your legs are not strong. Look at mine, touch them. Feel the muscles
on my legs.'

I felt the muscles on his legs and then felt my own and he smiled. For
a second I felt like a flabby white boy inept and out of his depth.
Looking back now, that is exactly what I was. But when we carried on
our walk, Mister Yehumi put his strong arm around me and we walked the
rest of the way to the hut while he told me long stories, laughing
loudly at the end of every one as though it had never been told before.
Before I had time to realise how much my legs ached we were sat at the
stone table in his hut, drinking bowls of goats milk and eating a plate
of rice, tastier than I'd ever had before. It was when I climbed under
the sheet of my new bed and rested my head on the feather pillow that I
realised how tired I was and despite the sun still shining I fell into
a powerful sleep.

It was dark when Mister Yehumi climbed the ladder of my bunk and woke
me, giving me a large piece of bread.
'I think you do not rise so early in your country.'
'What time is it?'
'Time?' Mister Yehumi shrugged. 'The sun will rise soon, by the time it
does do we need to have been washed and dressed and on the farm. That
means you will eat your bread, we will walk to the river to wash and to
drink and then we will begin the days work.'
Mister Yehumi left me, so I forced my bread down and buttoned up my
short sleeved cotton shirt. As I put my sandals on I could see I was
already taking too much time. The cold water on my face woke me up and
I felt refreshed for the day.

'You will be collecting apples.' Mister Yehumi explained to me on the
path towards the farm. 'I will give you baskets and you will pick off
enough apples to fill them ten times over, on a good day even more.
Before sunset we will take them to the market in my truck. The biggest
and juiciest, of course, we will keep for ourselves. Always keep the
best for yourself, never forget that!' His arm goes around me and he
laughs loudly, a laugh that reassured me that everything was going to
be okay, just as it had done the day before.

With three baskets already full, I sat on the biggest branch of the
tree and rested for a second. My body was perspiring in the sweltering
heat, my mouth salivating and I could not resist taking a big crunchy
bite out of one of the red apples. The mouthful of apple illuminated my
taste buds and it felt like nothing I had ever tasted before.
'How do you like it?' Mister Yehumi shouted, his back to me at the
other end of the field.
'It's the best apple I have ever tasted.' I said, still crunching and
rolling it around my mouth.
'Yes' said Mister Yehumi. 'It will be.'

I was so tired from climbing around branches and throwing apples into
baskets that I was worried about collapsing and falling to the ground.
When seven baskets were full, Mister Yehumi called me down to a picnic
bench where he was sat. The table was full of piping hot soup with a
big old fashioned lathe. He poured me some water from a canister and
served out a generous helping of soup with a big smile on his face. I
took a small spoonful and it set my taste buds on fire. As we both
emptied our bowls he told me animated stories of every single one of
his friends that we were to meet later at the market. I could still
taste the soup up in the trees when the tenth basket was close to
overflowing.
I climbed onto the back of the truck, surrounded by thousands of apples
and was thrown back and forth as we made our way along the rocky path
towards the market. We stood at our stall where I met hundreds of
people, just as happy as Mister Yehumi, every single one of them
thrilled to meet me and I was given gifts from other market stalls.
Small pieces of chicken, cheese and samples of wine, as well as hats,
sunglasses and a belt, all given to me from the generous locals I was
to get to know so well.

'It was a successful day today. By the end of the market we will have
no apples left.'
'Does that often happen?'
'No. No it doesn't.' Mister Yehumi took my new hat off, putting it on
his own head and ruffled my hair. 'I don't think I have ever had so
many coins in my pocket!'

Everyday we came home with more coins, as I got stronger and climatised
I was able to fill up to fifteen baskets in one day. I stayed with
Mister Yehumi for nearly two years. It was only supposed to have been
one month. I wrote letters home telling of the good times I was having,
recalling stories from the market and repeating stories Mister Yehumi
had told me and I always eagerly anticipated the letters I received
back. Everyday I would climb those trees, filling baskets and eating
soup. After two years the apples still tasted as ripe and juicy as that
first secret bite up on the branch of that tree on my first day. A
smile rarely left my face and when it did do Mister Yehumi would put
his arm around me and tell a story from his collection, or I would tell
him one from mine. I was starting to accumalate a wealth of anecdotes
from the people in the market who grew to be my friends.

Back home now people often comment on my physique, my colouring and how
relaxed I am. I don't talk about my time away, my stories always fall
flat and never get close to the reality. The colourful characters I
met, the food I ate and the places I visited all sound bland when I try
to explain them, as a narrator I made a good apple picker. But every
time I see somebody eating an apple, I think of Mister Yehumi and
smile.