mandarin“The smell stayed on my hands all day and every time I noticed it I felt briefly, cleanly happy, which tells you something about what the shower contained that the numbers do not.”joy index — 7/10
navel“It was ordinary in the best possible way — the fruit from my parents' tree, the water the same temperature it always is, and something about that sameness felt like a gift.”joy index — 8/10
cara cara“At 3am, everything is more itself, and the orange was no exception — sweeter than it had any right to be, and I laughed out loud at how good it was, like a joke I had finally understood.”joy index — 9/10
blood orange“I stood under the water and held the orange for a full minute before breaking the skin and the scent hit before anything else did and I understood something wordlessly.”joy index — 10/10

mandarin“It was thrilling that the juice could be instantly washed away, typically my fingers get all sticky but that didn't happen”joy index — 9/10

navel“I found the biggest and ugliest fuit I could find and realized inside was the most delightful ambrosia”joy index — 7/10