• Home
• Prince of Tennis
• Gundam Wing
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Harry Potter
• Miscellany

Gardening

Seiichi watched intently as his grandfather tilted the tiny plastic pot on its side and eased the seedling out before scooping a hole in the earth and transplanting it. One hand held the plant steady while the other smoothed the soil around it, building it up to support the stem. "Now you try," his grandfather instructed, handing him the next seedling from the flat.

Seiichi's hands were much smaller than his grandfather's, and much less certain. Something went wrong when he tried to remove the seedling from the container; it broke off, leaving him with the stem in one hand and the pot in the other. "Oh," he said, crestfallen, looking from the ruined plant to his grandfather's face. "I didn't mean to."

"I know," his grandfather said. He reached out and took the broken plant and the pot from Seiichi. "If you pull too hard, the stem will break." He gave Seiichi another potted seedling, and covered his grandson's hands with his own. "Like this."

Guided by the steady pressure of his grandfather's hands over his own, the plastic crackled under Seiichi's fingers, and the plant--intact, this time--came free of the pot. Seiichi beamed, and his grandfather took his hands away. Seiichi carefully scooped out a hole for the seedling and planted it. It was only a little crooked when compared to the ones his grandfather had planted, but his grandfather still smiled at him. "Very good."

Seiichi pushed his hair out of his eyes. "What about the one I ruined?" he asked.

"Hmm." His grandfather picked up the broken seedling. "We could throw it on the compost pile..." He glanced at Seiichi. "But then again, it might be salvageable. Run up to the house and bring me a glass of water, without ice."

Seiichi dashed off to obey, and returned more sedately with the requested glass. His grandfather accepted it with a nod, and took the broken seedling. "What are you doing?" Seiichi asked, as his grandfather trimmed the damaged end of the plant with his gardening shears.

"Hydroponics," his grandfather said, without explaining what that meant, and placed the trimmed seedling in the glass. "We'll put this on a sunny windowsill," he said, "and maybe, if we're lucky, it will grow roots and we'll be able to plant it."

"Plants can do that?" Seiichi's eyes were round with amazement.

"Sometimes they can," his grandfather said, setting the glass and seedling aside. He handed Seiichi another potted seedling. "Here. Try this one on your own."

"I don't want to break another one," Seiichi said, turning the pot around and around in his hands.

"We all make mistakes sometimes," his grandfather said. "The trick is learning from those mistakes, and moving on. Now, go ahead."

"Yes, Grandfather." Carefully, tongue poking out in concentration, he tilted the pot up and tugged the seedling out, this time unharmed. "...oh," he said. "You have to push with one hand, and pull with the other."

His grandfather chuckled. "That's the idea. Now, don't forget that."

Seiichi never did.

end