Roberta Allen
When the climbing vines of bitter melons were introduced by the men on the island of Rikimaki, the women fled with their children. Ordinary bitter melons were bad enough, but these ugly oblong fruit with warty green skins were not ordinary bitter melons. These fruits multiplied at an alarming rate, killing native fruits and vegetables that had sustained the island for centuries. As soon as the men cut down the vines with machetes, new vines appeared, even thicker than the ones before. What were they thinking? the women asked one another. Why didn't they listen to us?
The women hesitated to ask the oracle for help since she had fled the island with them. In the mad dash to leave, the oracle had accidentally dropped a tiger's eye bracelet which one of the women picked up. The women did not believe in "accidents." Finding the amulet was an auspicious sign, they thought. Maybe the power of the amulet could rid Rikimaki of bitter melons. With eyes shut tight, they passed the amulet from hand to hand, each silently beseeching it to rid Rikimaki of the terrible fruit.
It wasn't long before they heard that the amulet had worked. The bitter melons had suddenly died on the vines. The women could now return home but the more they thought about leaving the island of Panias where the villagers had welcomed them, where fruits and vegetables were plentiful, where lush forests and valleys surrounded them, the more uncertain they became. Did we really miss our men? they asked one another. Did we really want to go home?