Deprived

Chapter 37

Three weeks had passed since the collapse of the Wisterian government.

A feast prepared in Maize's honor was sprawled out on a table before her. The smell of roasted meat filled the air. The table was filled with colorful fruits, vegetables, and bowls of various types of stews. Plates and bowls were set in an orderly fashion, and everyone was already digging in.

President Roman, the rightful leader of Wisteria, was visiting to be a part of the celebrations.

The feast was a gift to Maize from General Palmer, leader of the western rebels and friend of her dear father. The evening was a celebration of her courage that had changed the future of all Wisterias. To her, it wasn't courage but a strong will to keep her family alive.

Maize sat in disbelief. Her brother Liam and her mother sat on one side and her love, William, on her right side. She was enjoying everything but couldn't wait for the celebrations to end so she could be alone with William.

She reached for his hand beneath the table and interlocked her fingers with his. He smiled at her, confident but shy. Maize's body grew warm as she thought of the special time they would soon share together.

Maize peaked over at Ollie and his siblings eating and laughing, having the best time of their lives.

She glanced at some new friends sitting at the table, Paul and Lisa, her hiking guides. She had only begun to trek the vast land. It was just as beautiful as she had imagined it would be. The west was much like the Oasis in the capital but more organic, bountiful, and less staged.

Other than the trees, her favorite part was the ocean. She had never seen anything like it before. The sound coming from the waves as they folded onto each other. The smell of the salty air. The sand beneath her feet had awakened another part of her. The sea was next on her list to explore.

Each morning she woke up looking forward to the new day because it held a new adventure.

But she had her duties and could only hike three times a week, sometimes four.

She was appointed head of the food distribution department in Wisteria. She was also responsible for educating new farmers and giving them the necessary equipment to help get them started. Growing crops from seeds planted in the sand would have been a challenging task. But, the capital had developed technologies and skills to grow nutritious food from the desert wasteland.

The old village where she grew up had been destroyed, some parts a ghost town. Most of the villagers had migrated to other states.

President Roman turned the food factory into a museum. In an attempt to never forget the evil so it would never be repeated.

After the government had been destroyed, all the other city's followed suit as each village rose up successfully against their tyrant leaders. All the cities went crashing down like houses built upon sand.

President Roman had regained his rightful place as Wisteria's president and took a break to visit Maize. He had promised to read the remaining pages of his memoir to her in person, but instead, he read the entire book last night to Maize and her family.

He had experienced kindness, redemption, heartache, deception, disappointment, hope, loss, love, and joy, all the things that make the world go round.

As Maize took a sip of blueberry tea, a cool breeze dancing on her face, she was certain that life was worth waiting for. That misfortune always had an expiration date. That if you lived long enough, trouble would come, but if you kept on living life would show you all the beauty it has to offer.