The orchard

“Eva arrived at her uncle's orchard in October, the day before the land was to be sold. She brought two wooden crates and a pair of gloves. Her uncle had asked her to pick the apples from the tree nearest the gate; everything else had already been harvested. He was waiting beside a ladder, wearing the same green coat she remembered from childhood. 'Just that one,' he said, pointing. Eva looked at the small tree and calculated that they would finish before lunch.

The apples glowed through the leaves like small lamps in a darkened room. Some were smooth and green; others carried brown seams that curved around their skins. Beneath the branches, fallen fruit softened into the grass, sweetening the cold air. The ladder leaned against the trunk with the intimacy of an old friend. Nothing here seemed arranged for departure. Even the crooked gate stood open as though expecting someone to return.

Eva climbed while her uncle held the ladder. At first they spoke about the road, the weather and the price of petrol. Then she asked when the tree had been planted. He did not answer immediately. She reached for another apple, twisting it as he had taught her. 'The year you were born,' he said. She stopped reaching. A tractor sounded in the next field, and for a while that was the only conversation.

There were fewer apples than Eva had expected, but each seemed harder to find. Her uncle asked her to leave one on the highest branch. 'For the birds,' he said. She could not see a single bird. When she came down, he rubbed a marked apple with his sleeve and put it in her hand. It fitted her palm exactly. She wanted to say that they could come back, then remembered that someone else would own the gate.

They carried the crates to her car. Her uncle returned for the ladder, and Eva waited by the tree. The remaining apple rocked gently above her, bright against the thinning leaves. She took off one glove and pressed her bare hand against the bark. From the car her uncle called that there was no need to hurry. Eva kept her hand where it was until the sound of the tractor had faded.”

Refer only to the first paragraph. Choose one answer for each item in the table. Write the four letters in order, labelling them 1 to 4. Each correct answer earns one mark.