the rice-cookers

It comes in a plastic bag, white pebbles but smaller unless they are brown or black - yes, black rice exists, you just have to search hard enough.

How to cook:

Open the bag.

Pour out the grains.

Rinse.

Then drain.

Then boil with oil, salt, and two parts water, then serve with tomato sauce.

Or eggs.

Or pretty much anything, really.

You make your rice loose and dry. Others make it thick and sticky. Others yet will offer you their rice cooker but you will refuse it, you will always refuse it, because you are a woman who can take care of herself until someone else is making the rice for you. As soon as that happens, all is lost. You will ask if you can help, and maybe they’ll let you, or maybe they’ll let you and then you’ll fail and then they won’t, or maybe they just won’t. The new rice-cookers will make it thick and sticky and serve it to you only with eggs and/or tomato sauce, and you will sulk after every meal because you prefer it with pretty much anything else.

“But at least there’s rice,” someone will say, “At least be thankful-”

There’s rice. A grain of rice, or many. A grain of rice, or many, on a plate. A grain of rice, or many, on a plate, or on the floor or half-and-half - half-on-the-plate-and-half-on-the-floor - and a voice will say “No worries, I’ll get that!” and they will get it while another voice is stuck somewhere, maybe in your throat, maybe it’s your voice and maybe it's saying “I’m a woman who can take care of herself” except you’re not. Except the rice is being cooked for you. It will still come in a plastic bag, though. It will still look like white pebbles but smaller.