Aren't We All a Naked Tomato Wearing a Robe? | Chronicles Of The Young Immigrant Women

It's the first time you can hear the birds singing at Lexington Avenue. It was a pretty quiet morning before the window on the second floor opened. This woman, who's holding a very loud phone, puts her head out. She's using the speaker as she talks to this other woman. Birds flew away of course.

- I don't use clothes anymore. To be more specific, eight days ago I got a light beige robe - you know I can't really have white stuff - and I've been wearing it ever since.

- Well I'm doing this yoga every morning with this guy from Asia. I've been wanting to connect with myself for a while now. Yesterday I thought about planting tomatoes on my balcony.

- How do you know he's from Asia? The last thing I wanna do is connect with myself. I don't even know if I'll have wifi inside there. I mean what resources am I going to use to figure what I'm feeling other than google?

- Maybe he is from India. Is India in Asia? Wait, no clothes? So are you naked right now?

- No I have my robe on. Just told you I got one.

An ambulance is crossing the avenue so they wait in silence. When it's finally gone the woman at the window lights up a cigarette.

- Is this a lighter sound? Are you still smoking?

- No. I mean, sometimes. Actually why do you even care? You should be immersing yourself in ice cream and smoke too. Like every other human being in their twenties in the middle of a pandemic.

- You know, this is going to be over soon. And by the way haven't you heard about what this thing does to your lungs?

- Anyone that smokes knows that.

- I'm talking about the coronavirus!

- I'm not even thinking about it. Have you seen that movie Parasite?

- I tried to, but I couldn't really follow the subtitles. 

If a bird could shit on someone's head right now, I'm pretty sure it would be on this woman's. Birds are all immigrants and they probably have to learn the local language to be around the city every season. How hard is it for a bird to be flying to different places so many times? Do the birds have a home to come back to? Do they come back? Considering that half of the world was colonized by the European pattern, which means stealing lands and acting as if they own and saved everything. I wouldn't be surprised if most birds lost their home too. Like the indigenous people, because we killed it. This is literally what the world's been up to for a long time. Just killing everything that looks like home. In the end, aren't we all parasites on this planet? Including the birds? Personally, I hate everyone who didn't watch that movie.

- Maybe that's why you don't understand when I talk. 

- What do you mean?

- Joo know English is not my first language. 

- I don't get it.

- Nada. How are you going to plant tomatoes in your balcony? — The woman asked while puffing the smoke.

- I still have to figure this out.

- Do you know where tomatoes come from?

- No. Do you?

- I don't. Shouldn't we know? Wondering if they were always out there. 

The silence now is because the cigarette is done and she's smashing it against the wall. It falls on the windowsill. 

- Shit.

- What? — Her voice sounds scared.

- Nothing 

She puts half of her body out the window to pick it up and finally throws it away.

- They were probably.

- What?

- The tomatoes!

- Oh.

- How about like when Adam and Eve were alive?

- Were they ever alive?

- I don't believe so.

- Me neither.

- Why did you bring this up then?

- The tomato thing?

- No, Adam and Eve.

- I don't know, it just came to my mind.

- Do you think our society is ever going to be what Adam and Eve are for us now?

- An example of sin?

- No. What? I guess?! It could—but that's not what I mean. What I'm trying to say is what if we become a fairytale? Just a story that some people believe and some people don't?

- That's too complex.

- Well I forgot you didn't even watch Parasite. — She said very angry.

- What's up with you?

- I'm tired of you ignoring where things come from.

She probably doesn't know where her robe came from either. It's the end of the phone call. And maybe of the world, too.