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After school, Elliot went to his neighbor Carmen’s house. He always went there until his parents got home form work.
It was an ordinary day, full of ordinary things.
“Hi Carmen!”
“Hi Elliot! How was school?”
“It was okay. Can I have a snack before I start my homework?”
“Of course. Would you like an apple?” Carmen offered.
“An apple? Don’t you have any candy?”
“Sorry, I’m all out of candy. But you can try this apple. It’s very special.”
“What’s so special about it? It looks pretty ordinary to me.”
“Oh, this is no ordinary apple,” said Carmen. “This is a very special apple!”
“Will it give me superpowers?”
“Well, I don’t know... Would you like to find out?” she asked.
“How?” said Elliot.
“Eat the apple like you have never tasted one before. Only then will you discover what makes it so special.”
“But I’ve eaten about a million apples. How can I do that?” asked Elliot.
“First off, tell me this: What color is the apple?”
“It’s red,” Elliot said quickly.
“Is it? Look VERY closely.”
Elliot rolled the apple around in his hands. He noticed that some spots were pure red, some were green, and others were a little brown. There were even a few dull, black speckles.
“Hmmm. There are so many different colors here. I guess it isn’t just red!”
“A very good observation. And what does it feel like?”
“Ummm…” Elliot looked puzzled. “Like an apple?” he replied.
Carmen laughed. “Slowly feel it with your fingers. What do you notice?”
“It’s a little cold… Some parts are smooth, and others are bumpy. Some places are hard, and some are a little soft. Neat!”
Elliot was about to take a bite when Carmen gently raised her hand to stop him. “Not yet! You haven't LISTENED to it.”
“LISTEN to the apple? How weird!” Elliot thought.
Feeling a little silly, he held it up to his ear, expecting to hear something.
He heard nothing.
“Is that the only way to listen to an apple?” Carmen asked.
Elliot got an idea.
He tossed the apple up in the air and, as it landed in his hands, he heard a hollow THWAP.
Elliot smiled. He’d probably made that sound a million times before, but never actually heard it.
“Now do I take a bite?” he asked, growing a bit impatient.
“Not quite yet. What does it smell like?”
Elliot took a sniff. “Umm. Fruity, I guess. And a little like flowers. And springtime.”
After another moment he laughed and said, “It also feels cool and smooth against my nose.”
Carmen smiled.
“Can I take a bite now?” Elliot could feel his tummy rumbling.
“Sure,” replied Carmen. “But I wonder what else you might discover if you bite it very, very slowly.”
Elliot really wanted to figure out the secret of the apple, so he agreed to eat slowly. As he held it up to his lips, he noticed his mouth was already watering! He was pretty sure this had never happened with an apple before.
As his teeth sunk in, he heard a loud crisp CRUNCH.
He noticed the sweet appley juiciness in his mouth, and little juice drops tickling his chin. The peel felt a bit stringy; the flesh felt cool and crisp, even a little spongy. Then came a burst of the familiar, fresh appley smell.
“Notice what the apple tastes like in different parts of your mouth. You can do this if you chew it very slowly and roll it around. Oh, and try not to swallow just yet! Do you think you can do that?” asked Carmen.
“Yesh.” Then he chewed with his front teeth, then with the teeth on one side of his mouth, and then the other. Next he rolled the chewed up apple around in his mouth.
He even tried smooshing the apple against the top of his mouth with his tongue. He tasted it on the back of his tongue, the center, the front, one side, the other side…
He really wanted to swallow the whole time but was determined not to; he was going to discover the secret!
“Are you ready to swallow it now?”
“Yesh pleashe,” Eliot said, through his apple-filled mouth.
“Go ahead! And see what you might feel as the apple travels into your belly. It may help if you close your eyes.”
Elliot closed his eyes and concentrated as he swallowed. He could feel the moistness of the apple as it went down his throat. His belly had stopped rumbling and even felt a little more full.
“What did you notice?” asked Carmen.
“You know, the apple DID taste different at the front of my mouth than at the back,” Eliot said through his apple-filled mouth. “In one part, it was sweet. In another, kind of tart. Like two fruits in one!”
Even after all this time, Elliot still wasn’t sure what made this particular apple so special. Yes, it was more colorful, more tasty, more fragrant, and more noisy than any apple he had ever eaten before. In fact, it was the most appley-apple ever! But why?
“What’s the secret?” Elliot asked, “Why is this apple so super-appley? What did you do to make it that way?”
“Ahh,” Carmen replied. “It’s not what I did that made it so appley. It’s what YOU did!”
Elliot looked puzzled. “What I did?”
“By slowing down when eating this apple, and noticing hot it looks, feels, sounds, smells, and tastes, YOU made it extraordinary. And you know what? You can do this with any food.”
Elliot thought about this for a moment. His eyes sparkled. “Jelly beans?”
“Sure!”
“Ice cream?”
“Absolutely.”
“Even macaroni and cheese?” Elliot couldn’t imagine that macaroni and cheese could possibly be even better.
“Yes, even macaroni and cheese.”
“Wow!”
“You know, Elliot, you can try this with foods that AREN’T your favorite, too.”
“Really? I don’t know. Broccoli is pretty gross. And peas. I don’t think I could ever eat peas so slowly.”
“Well, it’s worth a try. Maybe start with one little pea. You might be amazed at what you discover, just like with the apple.”
Elliot thought about that for a moment. Then he slowly and mindfully ate the rest of the apple.
He thought about all the foods he could eat this way. He couldn’t wait to show his family and friends! Suddenly a huge smile washed over his face. He remembered that today was Friday… and that meant…
Pizza night!
