I Won't Lose to My Younger Brother ~#WeeklyShortShortNote~
My younger brother and I have looked alike since we were born.
Our faces, builds, and skin tones were the same.
People around us used to say we were like a "mirror."
I couldn't stand that.
I was born first.
Why am I a "mirror" to my younger brother?
Doesn't that mean I'm inferior?
Yes, I challenged my brother.
But he just kept a cool face and said,
"There's no way I could beat you, big brother."
That remark made me even angrier.
Why?
Does it mean I really am inferior after all?
It's frustrating.
I won't lose to my younger brother.
Damn it!
The moment I thought that, everything went pitch black before my eyes.
When I casually put a side dish of shishito pepper in my mouth, a sharp pain shot through my tongue.
"Wa... wa... water... give me water!"
"Oh... you got a spicy shishito, didn't you? Here."
I hurriedly gulped down the water my friend handed me.
"Phew... that saved me... The shishito next to it was normal, but sometimes you get a super spicy one."
"I heard that... it's actually due to the stress of the shishito itself."
"Wow... such extreme spiciness, it must have had a really |painful| time."
(End)
I am participating in Kasan Tahara's "#WeeklyShortShortNote".
The secret theme this time was "Spicy Mirror". Was it a bit of a stretch?
(Postscript) I changed the ending because I found a more fitting one.
"It must have had a really unpleasant time" -> "It must have had a really painful time"
It seems it's true that shishito peppers become spicy due to stress.
The cause is stress from dry weather or lack of water. Shishito peppers are a variety improved to be easy to eat by removing the spicy components of green chili peppers. Therefore, when they receive strong stress, the genes that produce the spicy components they originally had work more actively than usual.
So, shishito peppers become spicy when they receive extreme stress. If you happen to eat a super spicy one, that shishito might have had a painful experience. Thinking about it that way, I feel like there's room for sympathy even for a super spicy shishito.
Well, I doubt there are any shishito peppers out there stressed by an inferiority complex toward their younger brother...
I got hungry while looking for an eye-catching image of a hamburger steak with shishito peppers as a side dish before lunch... It turns out that shishito peppers aren't actually that common as a side dish.
So, I went with a close-up of the most delicious-looking hamburger steak.
Posting that right at lunchtime makes me a food terrorist.
#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout
いいなと思ったら応援しよう！
チップのご検討、ありがとうございます。
3歳児を育てつつ、スキマ時間に創作を続けています。
いただいたチップは、家事の時短や創作時間の確保に使わせていただき、より楽しい文章をお届けする力に変えていきます。応援が本当に励みになります。