571/500 WORDS
Ilda Nora
One day, I'll prove I'm not the monster they say.
Planting seeds probably wasn't a normal job to take when you could burn a person by touching them, but Ilda happened to be a softy lately when it came to farmers. This one in particular had a back as badly injured as his lisp, which was worse than she'd heard in any voice for a long time. That said, the farmer had no one else to turn to- something that surprised Ilda. Surely even his annoying voice couldn't explain not having any friends. He wasn't carrying the power to burn anyone with his hand, was he? No, surely he just wanted pity... But it worked. And so, here she was.
The sun blazed in all its glory, peeking past the visor of the sunhat she was given to keep away sunstroke by the farmer's daughter, who was busy taking care of the animals. She stood tall in fairly tight-fitted overalls, hand-me-ups from the younger woman, which were already stained green and brown from various days of working in the dirt and grasses of their land. She had her own boots, thankfully- but they now smelled of rank manure, having gotten some on them while mulching some already planted cabbage. The heat was already noticeable with the labor, but she was far from done with her task of tending the farm for the day. Somehow or another, Ilda was dedicated to finishing every single job on her to do list. And that started with these seed.
Starting from the northeastern-most field, Ilda dug out from her borrowed rucksack a bag of radish seeds. She had to read the back carefully, lest she plant them all too close to each other. With careful planning not being her forte, she used her feet to count steps instead of inches or meters apart, praying it would be enough to keep the plants from getting in each others way. The daughter already told her not to worry too much, but she couldn't help it. This was redemption, after all- or part of it.
It said on the pack of radish seeds to plant a single seed each time, and there were a lot of seeds in the packet. She didn't have to plant them far apart, but the individuality of it made it difficult. The worst part was likely yet to come though- there were rice paddies to take care of at the end.
Carrots, tomatoes, cucumber- there were a lot of different varieties Ilda had to learn about while she planted them, which surprised her. But finally, it was time to get wet- a feeling Ilda loathed with a passion. Dredging her way through watery paddies, she began to plant a variety of moisture-requiring plants, from rice to sugarcane. Ilda wasn't sure how all these plants could grow at the same time, but she knew anything was possible with magic. Anything but making her enjoy this kind of work, that was.
It took an entire day just to seed every field and paddy. Ilda finished the day by turning in the borrowed attire, and joining the family for dinner. She left with some sense of satisfaction- she'd helped people today, and many more would be helped by getting to eat the fruits and vegetables she helped start the lives of. Maybe, just maybe, she understood now a bit of why farmers did the work they did... And she'd appreciate her food just a bit more.
The sun blazed in all its glory, peeking past the visor of the sunhat she was given to keep away sunstroke by the farmer's daughter, who was busy taking care of the animals. She stood tall in fairly tight-fitted overalls, hand-me-ups from the younger woman, which were already stained green and brown from various days of working in the dirt and grasses of their land. She had her own boots, thankfully- but they now smelled of rank manure, having gotten some on them while mulching some already planted cabbage. The heat was already noticeable with the labor, but she was far from done with her task of tending the farm for the day. Somehow or another, Ilda was dedicated to finishing every single job on her to do list. And that started with these seed.
Starting from the northeastern-most field, Ilda dug out from her borrowed rucksack a bag of radish seeds. She had to read the back carefully, lest she plant them all too close to each other. With careful planning not being her forte, she used her feet to count steps instead of inches or meters apart, praying it would be enough to keep the plants from getting in each others way. The daughter already told her not to worry too much, but she couldn't help it. This was redemption, after all- or part of it.
It said on the pack of radish seeds to plant a single seed each time, and there were a lot of seeds in the packet. She didn't have to plant them far apart, but the individuality of it made it difficult. The worst part was likely yet to come though- there were rice paddies to take care of at the end.
Carrots, tomatoes, cucumber- there were a lot of different varieties Ilda had to learn about while she planted them, which surprised her. But finally, it was time to get wet- a feeling Ilda loathed with a passion. Dredging her way through watery paddies, she began to plant a variety of moisture-requiring plants, from rice to sugarcane. Ilda wasn't sure how all these plants could grow at the same time, but she knew anything was possible with magic. Anything but making her enjoy this kind of work, that was.
It took an entire day just to seed every field and paddy. Ilda finished the day by turning in the borrowed attire, and joining the family for dinner. She left with some sense of satisfaction- she'd helped people today, and many more would be helped by getting to eat the fruits and vegetables she helped start the lives of. Maybe, just maybe, she understood now a bit of why farmers did the work they did... And she'd appreciate her food just a bit more.
This is the space for any notes you might have. If you end up writing too much, it should scroll nicely ^w^
IVYLEAF33
