1919. A gated community © Bruce Goodman 26 August 2020

Romualda had lived for a good two months in her new house in the fairly exclusive gated community of Cloudsome Heights. Thus far she hadn’t met a single neighbour. Then suddenly, without knowing who she was, Romualda met Yvette. Romualda was in the supermarket selecting a bunch of Ecuadorian bananas. If there’s the slightest touch of black on a single banana the bunch doesn’t last as long, so it pays to check thoroughly before squandering money on a bunch that would quickly go off. After all, she lived alone. It’s not as if a whole family was into helping to devour them. A touch of black would ruin the whole bunch. And then… “You must be Romualda,” said Yvette who had just grabbed a bag of pears next to the bananas. “Yes,” said Romualda, “but I must be honest. I’m not sure if we’ve met. How do you do?” “You’ve recently moved into our gated community,” said Yvette not introducing herself. “There are quite a few people who are not happy about it.” “Unhappy about what?” asked Romualda. “About you moving into Cloudsome Heights, as I just said.” “I wasn’t aware I wasn’t welcome,” said Romualda. “Is it because I live alone?” “Goodness me, no,” said Yvette. “We’re not like that at Cloudsome Heights! It’s because…” “Because what?” asked Romualda, by now slightly rattled. Suddenly a rather buxom woman pushed her shopping trolley into Romualda. “Oh I’m so sorry,” said the buxom woman to Romualda. “But you’re blocking access to the bananas.” “I’m sorry,” said Romualda moving away toward the vegetable section. “Well?” asked the buxom lady to Yvette. “Did you tell her she’s not welcome in Cloudsome Heights?” “No. But I’m pretty sure she now knows that a touch of black on a banana will ruin the whole bunch.” Contact Author Back to Still More Stories Index Next Story Previous Story