~~ ♠ ~~

Morning. We were already out in the garden.

My father’s garden.

It wasn’t as vast as the rice paddies. But you could find almost everything

here.

Banana trees stood at the far end. Nearby were orange and longan trees.

Then, rows of other plants.

Chili peppers. Tomatoes. Eggplants. Spinach. Long beans. Mung beans.

There were even watermelons and melons.

The garden felt incredibly lively. Not because of people. But because of the

colors.

The green of the leaves. The red of the tomatoes. The yellow of the flowers. And

the ceaseless chirping of the morning insects.

How did it get to be this much?

Because back then, my father gave us the freedom to plant whatever we pleased.

If we had fruit seeds. Plant them.

If we saw an interesting plant. Try planting it.

If it failed? Plant it again.

"Itsuki! Please turn on the diesel pump, it’s time to water the plants!"

My mother’s voice called out from the edge of the garden.

She held a harvest basket in her hand.

"Got it!"

I turned to the side.

An old diesel water pump sat there. Its paint was starting to fade.

The intake pipe ran into a small well, barely wider than a large pipe itself.

While the output hose pointed toward the irrigation trenches between the plants.

Because it was summer.

This garden had to be watered manually.

Unlike the rice paddies, which had a robust irrigation flow. Here, we had to

rely on the diesel pump.

Beside me, Yuna was still standing silently.

Her gaze darted everywhere.

Left. Right. Forward.

As if trying to take everything in all at once.

"What are you looking at?"

I asked.

"There are so many plants in the garden..."

Yuna answered without looking away.

"There are vegetables... fruits too..."

"Yeah, yeah..."

I scratched my neck briefly.

"Go join my mom over there. Looks like she’s about to harvest."

Yuna finally turned to me.

"What is she harvesting?"

"How should I know."

I pointed toward my mother.

"Go see for yourself. And help her out while you’re at it." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I walked over to the diesel pump.

"Help Grandma... okay."

Yuna was about to walk away.

But her steps halted again.

She looked back at me.

_

I flipped the switch to the ON position.

Yuna immediately changed direction. She came closer again.

Stopping a few steps away from me.

Her eyes watched intently.

On the side of the diesel pump was a starter cord.

I grabbed it.

I planted my left foot onto the body of the machine.

Then—

Clack!

I yanked the cord with all my might.

Chug-chug-chug-chug!

The diesel engine immediately roared to life.

The loud mechanical noise filled the garden.

The cord slipped from my grip and quickly recoiled.

I turned to Yuna.

"What are you looking at?"

Water began to flow through the hose.

A few seconds later, it poured out into the narrow trenches between the plants.

"Nothing, Papa,"

Yuna answered quickly.

Then she resumed her walk toward my mother.

I followed a few steps behind her.

But then I veered off toward the longan tree at the edge of the garden.

While Yuna kept going straight toward my mother.

Until she reached her.

"What are you doing, Grandma?"

She asked from behind my mother.

My mother was standing in front of the tomato plants.

Tomatoes hung heavily from the vines.

Some were still green.

Some were orange.

And many were already a ripe, vibrant red.

My mother turned around.

"Oh, Yuna."

A small smile appeared on her face.

"Grandma is about to harvest some tomatoes. Do you want to help?"

"Yes."

Yuna immediately stepped closer and stood beside her.

"In that case, pick the ones that are already red."

My mother pointed at a few of the fruits.

"The orange ones are fine too."

"Got it, Grandma!"

Yuna got straight to work.

Her small hands began plucking the tomatoes one by one.

"Yuna,"

My mother called out again.

"Yes, Grandma?"

Yuna looked back.

"If you want to eat them, go ahead. It’s completely fine."

"Okay, Grandma."

Yuna turned back to face the tomato plants.

Several bright red tomatoes hung right in front of her.

She plucked one.

And brought it close to her face.

Her eyes studied the color for a long time.

"The red is... pretty."

She murmured softly.

She took a small bite out of the side of the tomato.

Crunch.

A little tomato juice immediately trickled out.

The inside was a fresh, crisp red.

Yuna’s eyes went wide.

Her face brightened.

"Delicious..."

She took another, bigger bite.

"It’s so sweet..."

Yuna quickly finished the rest of the tomato.

Her cheeks bulged slightly as she chewed.

Then she stared at the tomato plants in front of her again.

With renewed enthusiasm.

"Now it’s time to help Grandma..."

_

Yuna resumed picking the red tomatoes.

One. Two. Three.

Soon, both her hands were full.

"Not enough room..."

She looked at the tomatoes in her hands. Then at the others still hanging from

the vines.

A few seconds later, her expression shifted as an idea struck her.

Yuna pulled the front of her t-shirt up. Forming a makeshift pouch.

She dropped all the tomatoes from her hands into it.

"Mm... this works."

She went back to picking tomatoes.

Even faster now.

"Hmm... is this one orange or still green...?"

Yuna stared at a particular tomato for a long time.

It was half-ripe. Somewhere between yellow and orange.

She hesitated.

"Grandma!!"

Yuna’s voice rang out loudly from the middle of the garden.

"Should I pick this one too or leave it?!"

My mother looked over from a distance.

She squinted slightly to focus on the fruit Yuna was pointing at.

"Not yet! Leave that one be!"

"Okay, Grandma!!"

Yuna immediately skipped over that tomato.

She picked other ones that were completely red.

Along with a few that were a ripe orange.

Before long, the pouch of her shirt began to fill up.

One tomato slipped out.

Plop.

Yuna quickly looked down.

She reached for it with one hand. While her other hand gripped the hem of her

shirt to keep the rest from spilling.

But—

Plop.

Another tomato fell out.

"Ah... this is so hard..."

She tried to scoop both up at once.

But failed.

"Mmm... I’ll just get them later."

She finally gave up.

Yuna walked over to the basket near my mother.

"Do I put them here, Grandma?"

She asked.

A large rattan basket sat in front of her.

"Yes, put them right in there."

Yuna immediately let go of her shirt.

Thump.

The tomatoes tumbled down, filling the basket.

A few rolled around at the bottom.

Yuna smiled in satisfaction.

Then she went back to retrieve the tomatoes she had dropped on the ground

earlier.

And resumed her harvest.

_

Meanwhile.

I stood in front of the longan tree.

It wasn’t too tall. Nor was it too big.

Beside it was an orange tree.

Roughly the same size.

My younger sibling had planted those two trees back in the day.

As for me...

I had never really planted anything in this garden.

I wasn’t sure why.

I just never had much of a desire to grow anything.

I reached out for the closest longan fruit.

I gave it a gentle squeeze.

Still hard.

Not ripe yet.

I checked another one.

Same thing.

Still hard.

I glanced at the orange tree next to it.

The fruits were still tiny. And green.

"Hah... nothing is ripe yet."

I turned around.

Yuna and my mother were now harvesting chili peppers.

I walked over to them.

"What are you harvesting now, Yuna?"

Yuna looked back quickly.

"I’m harvesting chilies."

Both of her hands were full of red chilies.

And there was another pile of them resting in the makeshift pouch of her

t-shirt.

She walked over to the basket and dumped them in.

Inside the basket, the tomatoes and chilies were now mixed together.

A sea of red.

"Papa."

Yuna picked a single tomato out of the basket.

Then she walked up to me.

"Here, try a tomato. It’s really good."

She handed it to me.

I took it.

It burst in my mouth on the very first bite.

The sweet and slightly tart flavor immediately hit my tongue.

It was incredibly fresh.

"Hmm... yeah, not bad."

I gave a small nod.

"See...?"

Yuna looked incredibly pleased with herself.

A thin layer of sweat had started to form on her face.

She raised her arm.

And used the front of her t-shirt to wipe her face.

And—

"Aah!"

Yuna let out a small yelp.

She flailed in a brief panic.

Her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

I realized what had happened immediately.

She had just used that shirt to carry chilies. And then used it to wipe her

face.

Her hands flew up to rub her eyes by sheer reflex. Only making the stinging pain

worse.

"Don’t rub them..."

I grabbed her wrists.

Gently pulling her down to crouch beside me near the small stream of water

pumped by the diesel engine.

The irrigation water had already reached this section.

It was clear. And cold.

I scooped up some water with both hands.

Then splashed it onto Yuna’s face.

Splash.

"Does it still sting?"

Yuna gave a small nod.

I rinsed her face again.

And again.

Water dripped from her chin and the ends of her hair.

"How about now?"

"Just a little bit..."

I rinsed it one last time.

Only then did Yuna let out a sigh of relief.

"It’s better now, Papa..."

"Good."

I stood up.

"Now wash your hands thoroughly."

Yuna looked down at her hands.

There was still some chili juice left on them.

"And make sure to change your shirt as soon as we get back to the house."

Yuna gave a small nod.

"Okay, Papa."

~~ ♠ ~~