Saturday, June 19, 2010

Banana talk.

The house beside mine belong to a couple who are not yet blessed with children. They had been staying there earlier than me. When I moved in one of the first things I noticed was a bunch of banana stems growing behind their house. This bunch was only about a few feet from the fence separating our houses.

After some time one stem began flowering. Next came the fruits. But due to the extra weight the stem leaned towards my house. Fearing that it might damage our common fence I supported the stem with a pole. At the same time I was hoping that when the fruits ripen I would be given a few.

One day after returning home from work I noticed that the fruiting banana stem was gone. Surely it had been cut down by our neighbours. What a pity, because I knew from experience that at that stage the fruits would never ripen. In other words it was a lose lose situation for me and my neighbours.

One day I managed to talk to the husband and asked him why did he cut the banana stem. His answer was he did not want to trouble me. So I explained that the leaning banana stem did not trouble me at all. I added that at least he should have waited until the fruits were in the ripening stage.

My neighbours  vacated their house a few months after that. The husband went to work in the United Kingdom while the wife went to stay with her parents in Kuala Lumpur. After all she had been working there for a while.

The house was then rented to another childless couple. After some time another banana stem began flowering followed by fruiting. But this stem did not trouble me at all. In time the stem was fallen by our new neighbours and the fruits taken by them. I did not get anything which did not worry me at all since as tenants they had the exclusive rights to the banana.

Only after a few months the tenants left and the house is left vacant ever since. I asked permission from the owners to park one of my two cars at their porch. In turn I cut their grass now and then. Permission was granted.

Recently another banana stem began flowering followed by fruiting. When I was sure no more flowers would turn to fruits I cut the flower heart and had my wife boil it for our consumption.

I watched the bunch of fruits every day for any signs of ripening. Suddenly when I noticed that one of the fruits began to turn yellowish I cut the stem and brought the whole bunch home.

My wife contacted the lady owner with the offer of  'come and get your ripe banana fruits.' The reply was I can do what I can do with the fruits.

So we divided the fruits among our neighbours.

In the mean time two banana stems are now sprouting flowers. Soo the flowers too will turn to fruits.

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