Seedfolks

Emiri

I was walking, just walking when I saw leaves, they were dancing down the street of Cleveland, Ohio in a way that I have never seen before. Spinning and whirling. They were mesmerizing. I wish I could stare at them all day, but, I have to go and see Kim. She is the child I watch over or "babysit". Otherwise I would have followed them. When I was young, my dad left me and my mom. My whole life I have been only with my mom. And now, I am alone. Back in Japan, I knew many friends. Now none. In this city, they divide among black and white. I have been in this city for two years, I do miss Japan, I lived there for thirty years. "Buzz, Buzz." My phone went off and I knew who it was. My mom, I knew she was checking in from Japan to see if I had got a "real" job. I think my job is fine, but my mom hates it. She sent me here to get a scholarship. I ended up not doing it. I didn't pick up the phone. "Shitsurei." It means rude in Japanese. That is what I was being, I don't know why I didn't answer her. She loved gardening and I did not like it very much, we do not get along very well. I had to get going. When I went to see Kim, there was a garden, a huge garden with many, many people in the vacant lot that was once filled with junk, and the homeless guy was nowhere to be seen, and there was Kim, right in the center planting some sort of beans. It was like there was a little community. It made me want to join right in. Then Kim looked up, her smile as big as an elephant's trunk. She ran like lightening to me and didn't say anything except grab my hand and lead me strait to her spot. The sun smiled down on her beautiful plants. The beans were bulging as big as a house. She pick one out and gave it to make and said "Go on, try it." So I did, and it would be the last thing I regret doing. Her beans were the best thing that I have or will ever taste. The juicy insides were as good as the outside. Then, I looked around, just for a second. And I realized that I wanted to plant something, to contribute to this garden. Then, I knew. My favorite rhyme when I was little was "Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." So I would grow peppers. Then it started raining, raining cats and dogs and we all huddled under the roof of a shoe store  and we met many people, nice people. It felt great being part of this garden, even if I had not even started anything. And when it stopped raining, I saw a Japanese woman. My mom was in the garden, planting peppers and I went up and joined her.