Portraying the 'three apples' within a realistic modern article

In order to create a convincing modern news story, I knew I needed to change one key aspect of the story - the concept of the three apples. It would not seem realistic for the husband to go out seeking three apples for his wife in a modern world, as they are too common.

Therefore, instead of portraying the apples literally, I decided to use the word 'apple' to resemble something else.

I decided to adapt the story and present the 'apples' as a street drug. After conducting reasearch on what drugs are most prevalent in the modern day Arab world (http://rehab-international.org/drug-addiction/issues-drug-abuse-middle-east).

Through this research, I found that opium is large problem in the Middle East, especially due to the fact that 80% of it come directly from Afghanistan. I therefore conducted more research on the different form of Opium and how it can be distributed in the streets (http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/drugsmak.html). 

This is when I discovered that Opium can be found in pill form. I felt that for my story, portraying the street drug 'apple' as a pill rather than traditional heroin, would be more simple to present in my article.

After conducting more research, I found a specific form of opium pill known as Oxycodone (http://www.drugs.com/oxycodone.html). Reading about the uses of the pill and side effects gained, I decided that this would be a realistic drug to use, since the wife in the 'Tale of the Three Apples' is unwell and needs a remedy.

More importantly, however, I found an image of Oxycodone where the pills were green - making 'apples' a perfectly relevant street drug name for them.