Sweet Oranges on a Hot Afternoon

In your hand you hold an orange, perfectly round and pleasingly dimpled. You purchased it from a stall at Charons Market just minutes ago, one amongst hundreds. It feels weighty, full of refreshing juice, which is just what you need now the heat of the day is beginning to build. You leave the bustle of the market and make your way along a dusty side street, chosen for its shade.

Here, the sounds of distant haggling, calling, and selling spill up the lane and splash onto every shady surface. A red-shuttered window conceals chatting voices in a cool dark room. An old woman sits on the steps to her door, peeling vegetables. You say hello; she returns a simple nod. The smell of tobacco and fresh coffee remind you of some pleasant memory from childhood.

And then a dark space catches your eye. It’s an opening in the long, unbroken line of town-houses—deep and unexpected. A small path leads away from the lane with the promise of green. As you approach, you smell the damp, earthy fragrance of vegetation. An iron gate lies open as an invitation. You reach out and run your hand over the contours of its intricate floral design.

A small sign above written in old script reads “All welcome. Bring only your thoughts.”

This is a brief meditation from the my fictional world of Spero. It comes from a project that I am working on that takes the reader on mindful, gentle journeys written in a second-person narrative. The art has been created with the help of AI.

I hope you enjoyed it, and check out my Hive blog for future posts!