Durian Days

The Hawker Carts filled the sidewalks of Yogya, selling everything under the sun. Yudhi pulled the car to the side of the road and opened the door.

“What are we doing?” asked Susi.

“I want to buy some Durian.”

“Durian? Blech!” exclaimed Reine, “I hate Durian!”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to waste another minute,” said Susi.

“This will only take a minute,” replied Yudhi.

One of the Hawker Carts stood apart from the remaining carts. Yudhi got out of the car and approached the cart. Hawker carts are just like street carts all over the rest of the world. They’re named Hawker Carts because of the people who pushed the carts. These men were called ‘Hawkers’ because they hawked (or sold) things from their carts.

This particular cart had a sign across one side. It said “Fong’s Fruits”. It belonged to Mrs. Fong. It was filled with fruits of all kinds. Yudhi did not have to search long for his Durian. The familiar odor of Durian found Yudhi as it drifted through the air..

“Ah! Here it is.”

A row of durian hung from strings that were tied to the cart’s canopy. The street vendor untied the string and handed the durian to Yudhi. Yudhi carefully took the string and held the large football-shaped fruit. It was colored green-yellow, like an unripe banana. Large, thorny knobs covered its surface.

He shook the durian as he held it near his ear.

“What are you doing?”: asked Mrs. Fong.

“Listeing for ripeness,” replied Yudhi.

“That is an old wives’ tale. You cannot tell anything from the sound of a Durian.”

“You can tell something from the squirrel holes,” stated Yudhi as he turned the hole toward Mrs. Fong.

“Yes you can. I’ll take half off the price. Is that fair?”

Yudhi nodded. He knew that was a good price, since a quirrel hole meant ripe and juicy seeds inside. The good thing was that squirrels had short arms, which means that even if Yudhi had ‘second paw’ on this durian, it was still a good deal.

He paid for the durian and thanked Mrs. Fong. However, before he could return to the car, the girls joined him.

“Why are you holding that fruit by a string?” asked Reine.

“See these spikes? That’s why.”

“Oh my gosh! It smells so awful,” said Reine.

“It smells like pig poop,” said Susi.

“I wish it smelled that good,” added Reema.

“But it tastes terrific,” said Yudhi.

“It’s not as terrific as bakpao,” replied Susi, “Can we buy some?”

“Do you have any money?”

“I have a few rupees,” said Reema.

“Then I guess you can buy it if you can find it.”

The girls walked a little way to a group of Hawker Carts. Some sold fruits and vegetables. They were looking for someone selling cooked food. One of the carts had a signboard on the side. It read, “Fong’s Fabulous Cart of Bak-“.

“This must be the place,” said Reema.

Indeed it was. Mr. Fong sold bakpao (sticky buns), bakmie (noodles), and bakso (meatballs), too. Reema ordered generous helpings of each item. Mr. Fong cooked their order and placed it in folding Chinese carry out boxes. As the girls returned to the car, they noticed the sign on the Hawker Cart full of fruit.

“Are you related to that gentleman down there?” asked Reema.

The woman nodded, “I am his wife.”

“Why aren’t you down there with him?”

“First of all, we’d have nothing to discuss when we return home.”

“And what else?”

“And Mr. Fong does not like the smell of durian.”

“Of course,” laughed Reema.

The girls returned to the car and immediately rolled their windows down. Still, they could not get away from the pungent odor of the durian. This smell was the very reason why most taxis, busses, and even airplanes would not let passengers bring durian. Reine even held head outside the window.

“Reine! Get your head inside the window!” commanded Yudhi.

“It’s stinky!”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s dangerous to put any part of your body outside the window. You never know what may happen.”

“If I pull my head inside, I might suffocate.”

“That’s a risk you’ll have to take.”

Reine pulled her head inside, but held both her nose and her breath. She put her nose next to the open window, trying to inhale fresh air. When they finally arrived at home, Mr. and Mrs. Urwani were both waiting on the porch. All the girls erupted from the car and hurried to the porch. Yudhi was close behind.

“Pa, look what I bought!” exclaimed Yudhi.

“I have not had Durian in quite some time.”

Mrs. Urwani pinched her nose and turned away from Yudhi and the smelly fruit.

“After you’re finished, I want you to throw the peel in the trash. Then, I want you to tie the trash bag and throw it in the trash can outside.”

“Is there anything else?” chuckled Yudhi.

“After that, you’d better put the lid on the trash can, too.”

Susi and Yudhi went to the kitchen. Yudhi ran a knife down the side of the durian, peeling the spiky skin away from the fruit. He then plucked a wedge of the yellow fruit from inside. He tore it into two pieces, keeping one piece for himself and giving one to Susi. It melted in her mouth with every bite.

“Let’s take some outside,” she said.

Yudhi finished peeling the durian. Afterwards, he threw most of the smelly outer peel, just as his mother had asked. There was one small piece he left on the sink. Meanwhile, Susi carried the pieces of durian out to the front porch. Mr. Urwani and Reema joined in. Mrs. Urwani and Reine refused to eat any durian.

“It’s so stinky!” said Reine as she pinched her nose again.

“Keep your nose plugged and just try one piece,” said Susi as she dangled the pale green fruit in front of her cousin. Reine reluctantly grabbed the durian with her free hand. She dangled it above her mouth and paused. Even with her nose plugged, she could smell the odorous fruit.

“It tastes like banana pudding,” said Reema.

Reine let the durian drop into her mouth. It melted like soft pudding. The taste, however, was something she did not expect.

“Well?” said Yudhi expectantly.

“Well…it tastes…like…”

“Yes?”

“It tastes like that stuff inside a candy bar.”

“Chocolate?”

“No, the creamy beige stuff.”

“Nougat?”

“That’s it.”

Everyone but Mrs. Urwani took a bite and held it in your mouth.

“I see what you’re saying,” said Yudhi.

“I still think it tastes like banana pudding,” said Reema.

“I don’t know what it tastes like, but I love it,” said Mr. Urwani as he slurped a piece into his mouth.

Without warning, Mrs. Urwani snatched a piece of durian off of the plate. She pinched her nose with two fingers and sampled a bite.

“Mmm,” said Mrs. Urwani, “definitely tastes like melted nougat.”

They enjoyed every last bite before Mrs. Urwani got up and went to the kitchen.

“Yudhi,” she called through the living room, “I thought I told you to throw durian peel away!”

“I’m saving it to wash our hands,” he replied.

“Oh, of course.”

She filled the peel with water and then used the peel as a tiny washbasin. Everyone took their turn washing and rinsing their hands before Yudhi took the very last piece of peel and threw it away. Afterwards, he tied the top of the garbage bag and took it out to the alley next to the house.

It was customary for anyone who ate durian to use the peel to wash their hands. For some reason, washing one’s hands in the peel kept his or her hands from smelling like the peel. Yudhi didn’t know why, he just knew it worked. That’s just the way it always was.

Yudhi returned to the front porch, where everyone was relaxing.

“That was the best ever!” exclaimed Reine, “Don’t you think, Aunt Maly?”

“I cannot say it was the best ever, but it was surprisingly good.”

Reema opened the bag full of goodies she purchased from Mr. Fong. Everyone shared the meatballs, sticky buns, and noodles. Afterwards, Reine heaved a sigh as she patted her belly. It thumped loudly, full of good food.

“I don’t think I could eat another bite,” said Reine.

“You’d better make space, because I am making Nasi Goreng,” said Mrs. Urwani.

“We bought some Mie Goreng from the Hawkers,” said Reema.

“I’d better get started then,” said Mrs. Urwani.

She went to the kitchen and began working her wonders. The rest of the family rested. Everyone except Yudhi, that is.

“Where are you going?” asked Susi.

“I have a plan for working off all this food,” he replied.

“What is it?” asked Reine.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

The girls followed Yudhi to the attic, where he would unveil his plan.