Amani

The sun rose over her simple garden as it always had, growing confidence each morning, pushing itself further into the sky, lighting up the farms of the valley. The young and spirited Amani was already hard at work amongst the mounds of plants in her yard where she spent most of her life. The hard work didn’t matter much to her, though. She enjoyed her garden. It was peaceful and quiet, and the labor-induced sweat brought her a feeling of accomplishment at the end of each day. Today, however, she wasn’t enjoying any of it. Several days earlier she was informed that her farm was failing and that her products were barely providing enough to make ends meet.

“Oh blueberries, if only you could grow a little faster,” she chuckled to herself. “Maybe if I moved you closer to the peppers, perhaps their fiery competition would encourage you. They sure do grow the fastest.” She sat for a moment in the dirt. “Maybe it would just encourage your stubbornness, though.” Her imagination raced as she continued to work. Already, several hours had passed by like a fleeting wind. For a moment, she grew anxious, thinking about how quickly those two hours had come and gone. “What if I can’t get more fruits and vegetables to grow in time? Why, that would be just rotten squash!” She tried not to let it bother her, and instead bounced back to thinking of her fruits, ideas running wild in her imagination.

“I wonder what you all have to say to each other when I’m not listening. Do you talk about me behind my back?

‘Oh that Amani, crazy as ever. I wonder when she’ll finally go and see a psychiatrist,’ she chuckled to herself, pretending to speak for her veggies. “I imagine that would be one of you peppers saying that, no offense.”

‘Oh Amani, you’re so caring and compassionate and those ol’ coots asking for all of your money don’t realize the hard worker you are!’ “Well, thanks for saying that, Mint!” she imagined. “Hm. Okay maybe that’s a little vain of me.”

She laughed again to herself. This was a challenging time, and anything that could divert her attention was much appreciated.

But she always circled back to the problem; how would she make up the money? Her fruits and vegetables only ever helped her scrape by, and now even that wouldn't be enough.

“What do you think, Carrots? I bet you guys know a thing or two about farming, yourself. ‘Why would you think that, Amani?’” she mimicked in a falsetto-carroty voice.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe the orange just makes you guys look like little sunburnt farmers, but who am I to say?”

She sat up again, this time looking at the blackberries. “What about you guys? You all seem to be team players…y’know, since there’s so many of you packed together…hmm,”

She paused. “Together? What if I combined some of the fruits and veggies TOGETHER?” She scratched her head and stood up.

“Too crazy?” She imagined the plants all nodding. “Ok maybe it’s a little far-fetched but what if we got a little experimental? What if we created a new product that no one’s ever heard of? Oh guys, this is great!” She hopped up and down in excitement! “Thank you!”

She ran inside and brought out a small notebook and pen. She planted herself in the dirt once again, surrounded by all of the fruits and vegetables and got right to work. She brainstormed combinations- blueberry family with mint family, or carrot clan with pepper tribe- more and more, she created combinations- drawing what she imagined them to look like. She didn’t know if it was possible, but the thoughts excited her. She drew her ideas of what each would look like, twisting and forming a beautiful hybrid. Sure, she wasn’t exactly the best artist, but she took delight in it. She imagined the plants leaning over her shoulder, fighting to see her drawings. "Now, now, just be patient! I'll have to get the best of each FAMILY to start with and then we'll see where this goes!"

She smiled and stood up. “Well guys, it sure doesn’t feel like it, but it’s already getting late. I can’t believe it’s taken us this long, but I suppose we’ll get started tomorrow!” She stood up.

“Yeah, this is gonna be great! As long as we work together, we’ll be sure to avoid rotten squash!” She waved goodnight to all of the plants as the sun lost its confidence once again and hid beneath the mountains. The moon, however, was more brilliant than ever, lighting up her garden as she shut her door, excited for the next day to come.

Then, inexplicable to anyone who might have been watching, happened a happening that well…happened. A blue firefly-like fog rolled in, settling amidst the garden. The Peppers, the Carrots, the Blackberries, the Mint, and the Blueberries began to twist and contort in the brilliance of the dreemy moonlight. Then, stems shot up from the ground and landed as many small feet, each with a distinct mannerism. The Peppers on their toes, the Carrots firmly into the ground, the Blackberries all as one, the Mint flimsily as the oldest one cried out, “My back!” and finally the Blueberries, light on their feet.

The Peppers looked around and fired out a call to the others, “Oh that Amani, crazy as ever. I wonder when she’ll finally go and see a psychiatrist!”

Posts of Season 2
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