In a dream, I was heading out with an old favorite college buddy from the 90’s, the adventurous, redheaded Becca. We were going for a bike ride on a sunny, spring day. She’s pregnant, but doesn’t hesitate to go out to the stairwell, lift her bike in through the hallway, and lug it down the stairs. Outside waiting for her, I encounter a few strangers, presumably friends of hers. They’re eating cactus. Not the fruits or flowers, but the flesh. I’m handed a huge, oblong piece, sliced open and ready to eat. The outside of the plant appears to be the standard, light green cactus. The innards are a lovely purple, light and almost pink, but still purple. Not sure what you’d call the color, but it was gorgeous. As I pulled the juicy flesh to taste it, the texture was stringy like a mango, juice filled like a grapefruit, and light like cotton candy. Beyond being not too sweet, the taste was indescribable.
Needless to say, I’ve been craving cactus for two days. Luckily, I’m living in a place where there happens to be a special cactus, Baeknyuncho or "palm cactus", native to this island. I’d tasted the chocolate they make with it. Great flavor, but the chocolate isn’t anything to write home about. Today, I bought the cactus tea. 70% cactus fruit, 10% honey, and I think the rest is water. The sticky consistency of this pink-purple gel is like plasma. The taste is perfect, on its own and with hot water, as tea. I guess it’s just what I needed. This weekend, ansha allah, my best girl & I will go west to check out this special, native, cacti... growing along a lovely trail for a Sunday.
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