My brother began to untie the ribbons of the present, absorbing the soft warm coziness of the nearby fireplace. It was a calm early morning; the foggy winter sky was emitting a soft array of reddish hues while the sun rose on the horizon. My brother stripped the last piece of wrapping paper off to reveal a box which read “Carolina Reaper seeds.” “Oh wow, this is gonna kill me.” he laughed. “Can I try one when they’re done?” I asked. “Sure. There’s no way I’m gonna eat them all.”

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“They’re done!” I heard faintly across the house. I was drawn towards the ruckus as my feet subconsciously carried me through the living room and to the kitchen. My brother held a plant sprouting multiple blood red peppers. As he clutched the potted plant in his hands, my eyes were fixated on one specific pepper. I was feeling confident in my ability to eat spicy foods so I asked for the pepper. “Can I try one?” I asked. “Sure but you’re gonna regret it.” my brother says as we walk outside into the moderately warm, yet chilly-winded spring afternoon. We continue to walk through the bright green grass of our backyard, until we come to a stop and get ready to eat the peppers. The one he gives me is a dark red, maybe purplish pigment. It has a flaming aroma, burning my nostrils upon one whiff. “You ready?” he asked. I wasn’t really worried at all, since spicy foods have never really phased me. The “spicy” chips they had in the store were never even the least bit painful. It’s not like I can’t taste the spice, but rather that I can just handle it well. I remember there was this one brand of chips named “Paqui,” and they had these ghost pepper chips that were especially spicy. I would give a single one out to a kid in lunch, and he would be red and coughing the whole whole lunch, swigging water between every flaming breath. To this day those chips are still my favorite, and sometimes I even eat the whole bag the day we buy them. “Paul?” asks my brother. “Oh yeah, I’m ready.” I replied. “Alright go for it.” I lifted the pepper to my mouth and bit off the end with only my teeth, so that way I didn’t get any of the spiciness lingering on my lips. I swallowed the Carolina Reaper chunk, which was about a third of the whole pepper. There was no way I was going to eat the whole thing in one bite, mostly for my own safety. As it entered my throat, I could instantly feel a hellish burn igniting my entire mouth. It was as if demons had been chewing on my insides, spitting fire within the confines of my stomach. I bolted inside, ignoring the distant “You good?” from behind me. I entered the living room.“How do I stop the burning?” I asked almost inaudibly to my dad, who was aware of what we were doing. “Eat bread. And I told you it would be a bad idea to eat that pepper. What did you expect?” I could barely hear him, as my ears were burning with a spreading flame across my whole body. I quick-walked to the cupboard, then shoved the first piece of bread into my mouth. It became slightly less painful as I bit down on the bread, but I was still dissatisfied with how much my mouth burned. I pulled open the freezer door to reveal the ice container, caught some ice in the scooper, and poured it straight into my mouth. It took about a half-hour of eating bread and ice, but I got settled eventually. Overall it was a pretty wholesome experience and I would recommend that you try eating the world’s hottest pepper yourself.