A high-end supermarket in the middle of the city was bustling with people. With all the aisles filled with things to attract them, the vegetable stall stood out like eye candy. The vegetables were arranged in colorful patterns—red, green, orange, and more.
In the pile of carrots, Carrolyn lay frustrated in the darkness at the bottom.
“Ahh! Why don’t they put me on top? I can’t even breathe down here,” muttered Carrolyn. She felt claustrophobic and was about to scream when a tiny ray of light shone through. She covered her eyes at first, then blinked and looked up with wonder.
“OMG! Is today the day? Is my destiny finally going to change?” she thought. A human hand came close and picked her up. She was elated.
“Finally, it’s happening!” she said.
But then, the woman saw her extra leg growing from the side. She frowned, tossed Carrolyn to the side, and moved on.
“Come on! Take me! It’s just an extra leg. I taste the same! You could even ask for a discount,” Carrolyn pleaded, but sadly, humans couldn’t hear her.
“Don’t worry, Carrolyn. I’m sure you’ll be picked by someone special,” said BunBun, her friend.
“This happens every time. You all get picked, and I’m the one tossed to the side. Am I that ugly?” Carrolyn said in a defeated voice.
“Don’t say that. You are beautiful,” BunBun replied.
“Nobody thinks that, BunBun. Nobody cares about me or my feelings. I want what everybody else is getting. I want to be made into juice or halwa. Or go to a home where people make salad out of me and brag about eating healthy,” said Carrolyn.
Just then, a hand reached in and picked her up again.
“Here we go. Go ahead, toss me aside again,” Carrolyn said in a disappointed voice.
The man tossed her to the side and started picking other vegetables to put in his basket. BunBun saw tears welling in her eyes. He winked at the others, and one by one, they all rolled down from the top of the pile with force. They bumped into Carrolyn, sending her flying right into the man’s basket while he was looking away, talking to the shopkeeper.
“BunBun!” Carrolyn screamed in surprise.
“I hope she finds her purpose,” BunBun said with a smile.
Carrolyn looked through the holes in the basket with happy tears in her eyes. “Thank you, guys!” she said.
The plastic bag swung from the scooter’s handle as it zoomed through the streets. Carrolyn noticed that inside the bag was an odd bunch of vegetables—and she was right in the middle.
“Alright,” she said, looking around. “I was hoping to ride in the back of the car, but this will do. Let’s see how it goes.”
The scooter stopped in front of a house. Kids ran out and grabbed the bag. The vegetables bounced inside as the bag was carried into the house.
“OMG, that was scary,” said Carrolyn. “A fun ride, but scary.”
The kids took the vegetables out and placed them in the fridge. Carrolyn looked around. She saw an eggplant with a big nose, a tomato with a big round bottom, a potato that looked like ginger, and the real ginger.
Carrolyn looked at the ginger.
“I don’t understand how you are accepted in this world looking like that.”
“What?” asked Ginger. “What did you say?”
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” She quickly changed the subject. “Hey, Eggplant, why the sad face? We’ve found a home. Isn’t that good?”
“Happy?” said the Eggplant. “Do you know where the good-looking vegetables go? They sit in big, shiny fridges. They’re cut with fancy knives on wooden boards. They probably smell like lemon and fame.”
“Yeah,” said the Tomato angrily. “Some of them go on cooking shows. Chefs talk about how fresh and perfect they are. Even though we taste the same!”
“Come on!” said Carrolyn. “The important thing is we get to do our job. We all end up the same in the end. And we didn’t get thrown away. That’s a win! I’m excited to see what we become.”
“Yeah, I guess,” said the Tomato, rolling her eyes.
The next morning, all the vegetables were placed on the kitchen counter.
The lady looked at the eggplant’s big nose.
“Why do you buy these ugly vegetables?” she asked.
The man smiled. “Ugly? Let me see.”
He walked into the kitchen and looked at the vegetables.
“I’m pretty sure I picked the nice ones,” he said.
“These are nice?” she asked.
The man smiled again. “Did you marry me just for my looks? These aren’t that bad. And now I know why the shopkeeper gave me a discount.”
“I guess I married you because you’re so smart,” said the lady with a grin.
The man picked up the knife. “Let me add one more reason to the list.”
“I bet he’s gonna cut off the eggplant’s ugly nose and throw it away,” whispered Tomato.
“Have some hope!” said Carrolyn. “Wait… he did cut his nose, but look… he kept it on the side. That’s not bad.”
Carrolyn looked down at her crooked leg.
“What will happen to my leg?” she said. “I know it makes me look ugly, but it’s part of me.”
“Why not you?” said Tomato. “I heard they’re going to make halwa out of me.”
Carrolyn replied, “The kids looked happy. Maybe I’ll be a hit at dinner!”
“You were right. It seems like we’ve found a good home,” said the Tomato with a small smirk.
“I’m going to the mixer again,” said the Tomato. Famous last words.
That night, dinner was served. Carrolyn sat proudly in a bowl of halwa next to a bowl of salad.
The kids took a bite. Then came the smiles and the compliments.
Carrolyn, in her bowl, just looked at them with a smile.