Land of Milk and Honey

by C Pam Zhang

They lied to themselves, as scientists lied, as politicians lied, as my employer with his opacity and his dubious wealth must have lied, too. I only cared that he provide a head of shriveled lettuce; even iceberg would do.

Strawberries sat abandoned in the fields by season’s end, so ripe as to be barely solid, warm as heart’s blood. Ambrosia, they call that variety, the food of gods. But the hubris of excess has mortal consequences. You can go blind, mad, drown in red. The second nature of strawberries is a sugar that turns to rot.

The ingredients were all Vegas,

He said, Think of this as a seduction. My shawl was woolly with Eun-Young’s perfume. My employer breathed deep, as if gathering the strength to breach my stupidity. The cross between my breasts swayed as he said, Religion is a flimsy construction of rituals infused with arbitrary power. The gestures have always been empty; behind them stand hustlers no different from you. All that is required is a convincing performance. Do. You. Understand?