She strained against gravity, feeling the rough of the bark on her hands and the warmth of the sun on her back. With her head flipped back to drink in the sky, she could see the perfect blue and the wispy, silk-scarf clouds. Leaning into the tree, she hauled herself the rest of the way up into the crooked bough. She stood slowly, curling her dirty feet around the branch as she reached for the peach that hung so perfectly.
"Kiri?"
The voice startled her, and she wobbled uncertainly above the ground.
"Kiri, are you eating peaches again?"
Finding her balance, she sat down again, treasure in the palm of her hand. Someone grabbed her ankle.
"Kiri!"
She yelped, momentarily losing her grip on the fruit so that it jumped into the air. After a moment's struggle, she managed to subdue it and tuck it into her sleeve.
"You're not supposed to be eating the peaches!"
"He won't notice one less."
"you'd be surprised. The old man really loves these trees. He'd be apoplectic if he knew you were climbing in them like this."
"Apoplectic?"
"Really, really angry."
"I knew that."
"Then why do you keep doing this?"
"What's the worst that could happen?"
"He could throw you out. Where would you go if he did that?"
"There's no place to be thrown out to. We're surrounded by ocean."
"So you'd be forced to tread water forever!"
"Huh. Do you think he'd do that?"
"Yes!"
"Sheesh. It's just a peach."
"You know he doesn't see it that way. These trees are his children--"
"No, we're his children."