Heritage by Julie Primon

She says there are easier ways to slice an avocado: for two clean halves run the knife through, pull off the skin.

Simple.

My knife bites into nail, nearly slices skin. Persevering I remove the shell first, cradle the yellow-fleshed avocado tenderly in one palm. The other hand runs the knife through, soft as fingers through a child’s hair. 

I see

my Italian father’s hands over mine, dark-skinned; they dance in my memory, ignoring the sharp risk of the knife. Over and over he slices, green pieces falling soundless into salad, a poise I cannot replicate.

The next avocado will see me attempt to emulate the grace of his misshapen fingers, nearly lost to curiosity at three years old.

There are easier ways, she says but I don’t care to try any of them.

Illustration by Sky Costello-Ross

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Julie Primon (@julieprimonaxtell) is a French, Cardiff-based writer. She completed a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing in 2021 from Cardiff University, for which the creative element was a historical novel set in 1940s Italy. Most recently, her short story 'Something About Weddings' was published by Honno in the collection Lipstick Eyebrows. Although she sees herself as a fiction writer first, in the last few years Julie has been experimenting with poetry and enjoys crafting personal, confessional-style work.