Two Baskets of Joy for El Paraíso

This morning, two baskets brimming with ripe mangoes set out from Vista Hermosa — yellow-orange, heavy with that sweet, dense fragrance that only freshly cut fruit carries under a tropical sun. Some bore the dark spots of perfect ripeness; others, still firm, held the quiet promise of days yet to come. The cargo rode in the bed of the pickup, bound for El Paraíso. The parrots were waiting — they know that flavor well, and they never need convincing: the moment they catch sight of the mangoes arriving, the uproar of feathers and beaks says everything.