Illussionary
Smash Journeyman
Epilogue:
This was originally written for a branch out a vignette book called Seedfolks. In which characters from a vast multitude of backgrounds are bound together by a vacant lot in their Chicago slum. They eventually turned the lot into a thriving garden and a jewel to the town. The story I have written is about boy where the garden not only helped the town, but also brought a troubled family together. I know that it's short, but its about quality not quantity. With that being said please enjoy the vignette!
Vignette- short, impressionistic scenes that focus on one moment or give a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting.
This was originally written for a branch out a vignette book called Seedfolks. In which characters from a vast multitude of backgrounds are bound together by a vacant lot in their Chicago slum. They eventually turned the lot into a thriving garden and a jewel to the town. The story I have written is about boy where the garden not only helped the town, but also brought a troubled family together. I know that it's short, but its about quality not quantity. With that being said please enjoy the vignette!
Vignette- short, impressionistic scenes that focus on one moment or give a trenchant impression about a character, an idea, or a setting.
Jorge
My mother has been depressed, ever since my father died and we have lost touch with our relatives in Brazil. All she does is yell at me, making me care to her every need day in and day out. I never have anytime for fun anymore. Since my father’s dead, I’ve been the man of the house, and it’s not as easy as it had looked when my father did it. Lately money has been tight so I started a job as the paperboy. I only make a couple cents a day, but its better then nothing.
Today, I heard that Sam is having a contest, to see which child twelve and under could come up with the best idea to help the garden in the vacant lot, and the winner could win a whole 20 dollars! That’s when I knew that I had to win, but I’m not very smart and I can’t speak English very well yet. I explained my idea as best I could to our community but they just couldn’t understand me, even the Spanish speaking people couldn’t understand my accent.
Mom is getting more and more depressed, she keeps crying and rambling on about how her and her grandmother used to plant tomatoes. That’s when I got the idea, that maybe if I grew tomatoes in the garden lot and brought them to her that maybe it would give her some hope and take her out of depression. The next day I got the seeds and went to work, as I checked back day after day I could see that my plants were thriving.
I encouraged mom to come outside and help me. She reluctantly walked outside to the lot and gazed upon all the patches of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. For a second I thought I saw her smile, but it quickly faded. I took her over to my patch. She explained that I was doing everything all wrong, so I asked her to demonstrate. After that she became extremely interested in our small tomato patch.
My mother and I worked on that tomato patch for several hours each day. We talked about life in Brazil and Dad. I can tell that I’m getting my mother, back. She’s starting to smile and laugh again, just like old times.