The knife scrapes the rim of the glass jar, coming away with a thin strand of gold. Like cheap jewelry covered with a gold wash, creating an illusion of great value.
There used to be bottles shaped like bears: whimsical, disposable, plastic. Now glass jars are reused. They seem bigger every year as bees grow ever more rare.
The apple is small and soft, the skin bruised and broken even before the knife touches it.
There used to be better apples: healthy, varied, colorful, juicy. Delicious. But this is all that remains to mark the beginning of a new year.
A. P. Howell’s short fiction has appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Little Blue Marble, and Community of Magic Pens. She tweets @APHowell and her website is aphowell.com.
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