It was raining and I was sick, hadn't been able to keep anything down in days, lying on the floor staring at the wall because moving or thinking, really, anything, made my stomach heave even though there was nothing left, and she brought me congee and cloud ears and a little dish of pickled vegetables. And at first the very thought of food made me quiver inside but 'here try a bite' she said and suddenly I was hungry, actually hungry, for the first time in days, and she laughed and laughed and put the tea kettle on and it hummed in the background while I ate and remembered that sweet, perfect taste of food and felt it reaching deep into my body.