Dylan’s Summer Hope
Dylan came from a poor family but his life was rich with love. Every year his mother gave him a sunflower seed and he tore himself away from his day to day activities of colouring books and toy trains to plant himself in the garden and nurture his budding project.
My predecessors had disappointed Dylan. He poured his heart and his soul into looking after the tiny shoots but they never grew to as tall as he hoped. Still, every year he sped out with his trough and watering can to try again.
I’d been in my new home for quite a while now, engaged in the constant struggle to grow. Every day Dylan would come and check on me and leave disappointed. I dreaded hearing the phrase his mother would come out with each time “Don’t worry, we’ll try again next year”.
Dylan refused to yield to his mother’s requests to occupy himself with something else and as I saw him close his eyes with sadness again and again, my willpower grew. I pushed and pushed and eventually my spring green shoots came through the top layer of soil and connected with the sun’s warm beam. I felt layers of fertile soil shift as I anchored my roots.
The next day Dylan came into the garden and I saw his heart leap with excitement. His hard work had paid off and as I grew to unprecedented heights I saw his confidence grow with me. I felt blessed that even though Dylan had a huge range of other things he enjoyed doing, his current play thing was a yellow sunflower.
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This short story was inspired by this week’s Sunday Wordle which can be found here.
Writing Beckles 