The fruit had turned me ill. I coughed up seeds and felt my belly, at the stillness still there. The grizzled cat scratched at my foot for attention, and then called me to follow. We moved past the gnarled trees into an old, abandoned neighborhood. The pavement was hot and cracked, caked over with sand and dirt. The houses looked the same, the same asphalt roofs upon squat homes. The same types of yard litter, old burning plants and toys.
Even though it looked as if no one was at home in any of them, I still made the effort to knock on each door before entering. The cat preceded me inside and began to jump upon the counters to scratch at the cupboards. He must have been hungry, and I opened the doors looking for food for the creature. There was no food to be found. The cabinets were fille
