Day 160: 16 April 2026

 Short Story -- When life hands you a carrot...

Jake finished loading the dishwasher, closed the door and pushed the button to start it. He heard the click of the lock engaging and the hum of it as the wash cycle started.

He trudged tiredly upstairs, took his slippers off and flopped onto the couch to watch some tv before bed. But he didn’t last long and was soon asleep.

The next morning, in need of a coffee mug, he opened the dishwasher (and heard the click as the latch released) and pulled out the top shelf. Deciding he’d also grab a plate while there, he pushed the top shelf back in and pulled out the bottom shelf.

His hand was reaching for a plate — the toast POPPING from the toaster — when it froze.

He blinked a couple of times.

He wasn’t really a morning person, you see.

And then he reached past the plate, took where a whole, intact, carrot was sitting. Looking as clean as the dishes themselves.

‘What the…?’ he trailed off, holding the carrot and scratching his head. ‘I’ve not even eaten anything with carrot in it recently.

In his head, he continued: ‘And I’m sure I’d have noticed a whole carrot when I loaded the dishwasher last night. I wasn’t that tired.’

Seeing the time, he set the carrot in the counter. He quickly filled his mug with coffee, grabbed the two pieces of toast and slapped some butter on and ran out the door.

The carrot was still sitting pristine on the counter when he arrived home that evening.

He eyed it like it might be dangerous.

Then decided to add it to the stir fry he was making for dinner that night.

It was delicious!

Over the next month, different vegetables arrived in the dishwasher every time he ran it: a few tomatoes, a cucumber, more carrots. All of them looking immaculate and tasting perfection.

He started buying more veg at the supermarket when he went, just so he’d have complimentary vegetables to eat with whatever the dishwasher provided.

He wasn’t sure how long the vegetable gift giving would last but he was absolutely going to take advantage of it.

He even started researching new recipes that used vegetables. He’d started making curries and soups from scratch.

It’s been six months since that first carrot mysteriously arrived. And the dishwasher hasn’t stopped providing fresh, tasty, ripe vegetables yet!

Jake’s quit his 9 to 5. He’d never had a passion for accounting anyways. He’s studying to become a chef now.