Pineapples/Tell Me A Story

"Tell me a story", she says, eyes shining.
I
smile, 
smooth my hand over the 
sand that lies rippled 
all around us.

"What would you like to hear?"

Wind twists through her hair and
she tosses its licorice strands impatiently
from her face.

"A story where
butterflies glow and
you can see the ribbons
that keep the stars hanging in the sky.
Fish who have two tails and...
tell me about popsicle stands
at the bottom of the ocean that
you can only get to by riding a blue whale."

"Are you ready?"

"No.
I want a story where you can taste
the wind, like blue raspberry or watermelon.
And form it into shapes, like llamas maybe. And turtles.
Something with flavor, I want a sweet and spicy story."

"How about now, now can we start?"

"I wasn't finished.

Tell me about ice that looks like stained glass and
fairies who drink nectar from acorn cups.
I want to hear about rivers that run green, emerald green.
And blue grass and purple skies.
And – "

Here she stops and looks at me.

"And.....?"

"I want a story about pineapples."

"Pineapples?!"

She nods decidedly.
"Pineapples."