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Once you find your light, I'm sure it will lead you back here.
There was nothing like getting out and doing some charity work. In fact, it was one of Cordelia’s favorite pastimes back in Ca-Elum. And there was no stopping here when she heard that a charity in Crocus had contacted Meliora Vitae to see if they would offer some helpers to clean up the parks in the city. The young islander was so excited that she left almost immediately, barely taking anything with her as she took off to take transport down to the surface. Not only was it a chance to give back to the people and to Mother Earthland but it would give her the chance to go and see the capital of Fiore! There was no way she was turning down that opportunity! And luckily there was a lot to do!
Cordelia arrived to find several men and women lining up to figure out what they could do. One of the coordinators stood before them, with a clipboard in hand and a pen to check off duties as people offered themselves. She glanced among the group quietly and quickly before she spoke up. “Okay, thanks for coming everyone. You have no idea how much this means to us and to Crocus. So we’ve got a lot of tasks that we’re hoping to complete today so we better get started. We’ve managed to purchase a fair number of flowers, shrubs and trees to plant so we’re going to need help transporting them, digging holes to plant them in and then some people to go around afterwards and water them. So who is…?” She was just about to ask for people to volunteer when she spotted a hand in the midst of people, waving to and fro excitedly. “Uh… you have a question, ma’am?”
The group parted to reveal Cordelia, who kept her hand in the air. “Yes! Thank you,” she grinned, finally putting her hand down. “Is there any chance that I can just help with… all of it? Moving, planting and watering? This is my first time in Crocus and I want to help everywhere I can!”
The woman blinked. “First time in Crocus? And you want to spend your day doing community work? Most tourists like to go and walk around, look at the sights and all.”
“Oh I’m sure I’ll get to that at some point. But how often can I say that I helped spruce up the city’s parks? Not that often I bet!” she said, her grinning growing a bit brighter. Her infectiously positive attitude sent a rumble of chuckles through the crowd, who were amused at her but not altogether bothered. In fact, her energy seemed to be having a positive effect on the other volunteers.
The coordinator smirked and shrugged. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. If you want a little bit of everything, I bet we can make that happen. How about we start you on transport and then we’ll move you on from there?”
“Sounds great,” Cordelia replied, throwing her hand up in a thumbs up.
“Alright then! You heard the lady -- she’s looking to do everything. How many of you have the same drive?” And much to her surprise, the entirety of the group joined in a unified cheer. Her smirk broke into a full grin. “I like that energy. Alright gang! Transport can gather ‘round here and digging over here. Once we’ve dug the holes, you can grab some cans and start watering.”
Cordelia was joined by a fair number of men and women, who were all rather eager to chat her up and ask her about herself. The islander was more than happy to introduce herself, explain where she had come from, why she was there and promoting Meliora Vitae all at the same time. Soon they were moving over to a new area as a transport came in, opening up to reveal all sorts of plantlife ready to be put into the parks. Giggling excitedly, Cordelia dashed to the front of the line and grabbed a rather large bushel of roses, waiting for a few of the other volunteers so she could walk with them.
It was a tedious and tiring process, of course -- manual labor always was! But as they lifted up trees and bushes and brought them over to their new homes, Cordelia and her new friends couldn’t help but smile as the new plantlife was already doing wonders for making the parks look brand new. After a couple of hours of lifting and putting down, the coordinator came around and pulled Cordelia over to a new park to help with the digging. The islander reached into her purse and pulled out her own personal shovel, amazing everyone around her as she began to break ground quickly. By the time the afternoon had begun to fade into evening, all the plants were put in and all that was left was going around to water them soil before it froze overnight.
Cordelia was humming a tune to herself, letting water run out of the spout as the coordinator walked over to her. “You worked hard all day and you’re still here, bright as ever.”
“Well it’d be hard not to be so happy after what we accomplished,” Cordelia said, gesturing with her free hand to the park beyond. Even in the setting sun, the park looked amazing; a fresh new life had been breathed into the area that was inviting and relaxing. “It’s pretty incredible to think that these parks went so long without a little tender loving care.”
The coordinator nodded. “Unfortunately funds are hard to come by, especially within the government. That’s why we started up the charity -- we rely on the people to give back to themselves rather than waiting for any kind of political money. Makes it easier and gets done quicker.”
Cordelia didn’t really know much about how governments worked, beyond that of Ca-Elum. But she smiled nonetheless. “I think it’s great that you guys got together and put this into action all by yourselves. I bet it’s a lot of fun.”
“Sometimes it can be a little stressful; we don’t always have women like you that keep up the positive attitude all day. But the results always speak for themselves. Thanks for your help today, Cordelia. I hope we see you again.”
The islander flashed her a warm grin. “You can bet on it!”
Cordelia arrived to find several men and women lining up to figure out what they could do. One of the coordinators stood before them, with a clipboard in hand and a pen to check off duties as people offered themselves. She glanced among the group quietly and quickly before she spoke up. “Okay, thanks for coming everyone. You have no idea how much this means to us and to Crocus. So we’ve got a lot of tasks that we’re hoping to complete today so we better get started. We’ve managed to purchase a fair number of flowers, shrubs and trees to plant so we’re going to need help transporting them, digging holes to plant them in and then some people to go around afterwards and water them. So who is…?” She was just about to ask for people to volunteer when she spotted a hand in the midst of people, waving to and fro excitedly. “Uh… you have a question, ma’am?”
The group parted to reveal Cordelia, who kept her hand in the air. “Yes! Thank you,” she grinned, finally putting her hand down. “Is there any chance that I can just help with… all of it? Moving, planting and watering? This is my first time in Crocus and I want to help everywhere I can!”
The woman blinked. “First time in Crocus? And you want to spend your day doing community work? Most tourists like to go and walk around, look at the sights and all.”
“Oh I’m sure I’ll get to that at some point. But how often can I say that I helped spruce up the city’s parks? Not that often I bet!” she said, her grinning growing a bit brighter. Her infectiously positive attitude sent a rumble of chuckles through the crowd, who were amused at her but not altogether bothered. In fact, her energy seemed to be having a positive effect on the other volunteers.
The coordinator smirked and shrugged. “I appreciate your enthusiasm. If you want a little bit of everything, I bet we can make that happen. How about we start you on transport and then we’ll move you on from there?”
“Sounds great,” Cordelia replied, throwing her hand up in a thumbs up.
“Alright then! You heard the lady -- she’s looking to do everything. How many of you have the same drive?” And much to her surprise, the entirety of the group joined in a unified cheer. Her smirk broke into a full grin. “I like that energy. Alright gang! Transport can gather ‘round here and digging over here. Once we’ve dug the holes, you can grab some cans and start watering.”
Cordelia was joined by a fair number of men and women, who were all rather eager to chat her up and ask her about herself. The islander was more than happy to introduce herself, explain where she had come from, why she was there and promoting Meliora Vitae all at the same time. Soon they were moving over to a new area as a transport came in, opening up to reveal all sorts of plantlife ready to be put into the parks. Giggling excitedly, Cordelia dashed to the front of the line and grabbed a rather large bushel of roses, waiting for a few of the other volunteers so she could walk with them.
It was a tedious and tiring process, of course -- manual labor always was! But as they lifted up trees and bushes and brought them over to their new homes, Cordelia and her new friends couldn’t help but smile as the new plantlife was already doing wonders for making the parks look brand new. After a couple of hours of lifting and putting down, the coordinator came around and pulled Cordelia over to a new park to help with the digging. The islander reached into her purse and pulled out her own personal shovel, amazing everyone around her as she began to break ground quickly. By the time the afternoon had begun to fade into evening, all the plants were put in and all that was left was going around to water them soil before it froze overnight.
Cordelia was humming a tune to herself, letting water run out of the spout as the coordinator walked over to her. “You worked hard all day and you’re still here, bright as ever.”
“Well it’d be hard not to be so happy after what we accomplished,” Cordelia said, gesturing with her free hand to the park beyond. Even in the setting sun, the park looked amazing; a fresh new life had been breathed into the area that was inviting and relaxing. “It’s pretty incredible to think that these parks went so long without a little tender loving care.”
The coordinator nodded. “Unfortunately funds are hard to come by, especially within the government. That’s why we started up the charity -- we rely on the people to give back to themselves rather than waiting for any kind of political money. Makes it easier and gets done quicker.”
Cordelia didn’t really know much about how governments worked, beyond that of Ca-Elum. But she smiled nonetheless. “I think it’s great that you guys got together and put this into action all by yourselves. I bet it’s a lot of fun.”
“Sometimes it can be a little stressful; we don’t always have women like you that keep up the positive attitude all day. But the results always speak for themselves. Thanks for your help today, Cordelia. I hope we see you again.”
The islander flashed her a warm grin. “You can bet on it!”
words: 1087MADE BY MIZO
