Sowing The Seeds

A woman hopes for a little divine intervention in this uplifting short story by Vanda Inman.

Could Meredith’s new garden help her find a Valentine?

YOU can manifest whatever you wish for,” Meredith’s friend Janice had told her, pointing to the pinboard on the wall that held pictures of things she wanted to come into her life.

“Trust in the universe. Wish and it will come.

“Maybe not exactly how you imagine, but it will come nevertheless.”

Janice worked in a playschool and didn’t have much money, yet her aspirations were big: her pinboard held pictures of houses, furniture, curtains and carpets.

Although Meredith worried it sounded a little selfish, she decided to give it a go.

She’d been searching for months for a new home without any luck, so she cut out pictures of the type of house she was looking for and pinned them on her own board.

A few weeks later, to her surprise, she found exactly what she wanted.

Meredith’s trust in the universe grew, and she decided it was time to move on to even bigger and better things, like a Valentine . . . and love.

But simply cutting out a picture from a magazine wouldn’t be enough.

This called for a little more creativity.

* * * *

“Snowdrops, crocuses, narcissi, tulips . . .”

The young man at the garden centre smiled as he put Meredith’s purchases through the till. His name tag read Ben.

“It’ll look a treat come spring. For your garden?” Meredith nodded.

“My new garden,” she explained proudly.

“See you again, I hope,” he said as she left.

She didn’t tell him the reason she was buying so many bulbs which would flower in the spring.

He’d probably think the pact she’d made with the universe was a trifle silly.

The truth was, a strip of paper wasn’t enough. Meredith had decided to go one step beyond in her quest for a Valentine.

* * * *

The next weekend, Meredith was hard at work planting her bulbs, now and then glancing up apprehensively at the low, grey sky.

She got them in just before the rain came.

“When you come up in early spring, and the sun is shining,” she whispered, “please bring me a Valentine. I only need one.”

* * * *

“Where have you been?” Janice asked some months later when they met for coffee. She dumped a pile of magazines on the table. “I’m looking for some more pictures for my pinboard.”

“What exactly is it you’re wanting now?”

“Another house would be good,” Janice began. “And a horse and carriage sounds fun . . .” The list went on and on.

“Don’t you think the universe might have other things on its mind?” Meredith probed.

She wasn’t sure it was right to keep asking for all this stuff. She was ashamed of her wish for a Valentine when there was so much suffering in the world.

She had a roof over her head and a garden. What more did she need?

“How are the bulbs?” Janice ignored her question and riffled through the magazines.

“Still in the ground,” Meredith replied morosely. If she were honest, she was wondering if the bulbs were ever going to shoot at all.

She didn’t want to admit it, but she was beginning to feel the universe had turned its back on her.

“Well, good luck,” Janice said as they parted. “Let’s meet up next month and see how we’re both doing.”

The encounter had set Meredith thinking about all the people and animals in need. Was it right to take and not give?

* * * *

“Hello, again. Bet your garden’s looking a treat. All the bulbs up?” Meredith was surprised Ben remembered her after all these months.

“Actually, no,” she admitted. “There isn’t a single shoot.”

“Oh.” He looked puzzled. “Maybe the mice had them. It’s not unknown if it’s been a cold winter.”

Meredith nodded. She’d seen snowdrops and crocuses everywhere except in her garden.

Maybe it was a message that she was never to get a Valentine, or find love.

Why had her request been ignored, when Janice seemed to be getting whatever she wanted? It didn’t seem fair.

“How can I help you today?” Ben asked.

Janice explained what she needed.

“Come with me,” he said, grinning. “Let’s see what we can do.”

* * * *

Valentine’s Day arrived, but there was no card through the door.

It didn’t surprise her – the patch at the front of the house which held all her hopes and dreams was no more

than a muddy square with no signs of life. “Well, universe,” she whispered, “you might not have delivered the bulbs or the Valentine, but maybe you had better, more important things to do.”

Her heart lifted. And if the mice had eaten her bulbs, they were welcome to them.

Grabbing her hat and scarf, she went outside just as the van drew up.

“One garden shed, one lawn mower, one pair of secateurs, one spade, six bags of compost.” Ben smiled. “I asked the boss to let me deliver it. I wanted to see your garden.”

He peered over the fence at the barren-looking earth.

“Mmm, see what you mean,” he began, then clutched her arm. “Look!”

“What?” Meredith expected to see shoots miraculously appearing from the ground.

“Over there. A hedgehog!”

From beneath a pile of wood and leaves in the corner she saw the hedgehog lumber out, raising its snout to the sunlight before turning and disappearing again.

“The first I’ve seen this year. A sure sign spring is on the way. Now, let’s get this lot unloaded.”

Some time later, everything was in place.

The new shed was up in the back garden and the tools neatly arranged, ready to carve out a wildlife-friendly area and a vegetable patch.

As for flowers? Well, maybe next year her Valentine wish would come true. And seeing the hedgehog and knowing it had been hibernating under the pile of wood and leaves was worth a hundred Valentine cards. “We must make somewhere for hedgehogs to shelter,” she said, “and a small pond for frogs.”

Ben grinned.

“I like your thinking. Fancy coming out with our wildlife group to clear some woodland next weekend? I’m sure you’d enjoy it.” Meredith nodded.

“I’d love to,” she replied. “I’ll jot down my number,” he said, scrabbling for a piece of paper in the van and handing it to her. “See you next week, then.”

Back inside, Meredith dropped the piece of paper on to the kitchen table as she filled the kettle. It had been a lovely day, and she’d enjoyed Ben’s company, even if she hadn’t had a Valentine.

She glanced at the piece of paper with Ben’s number on it and halted. She couldn’t believe it.

Under his number was his name: Ben Valentine.

She glanced up at the sky, now bright with sunlight. Could it be true? Had she been sent a Valentine in the flesh?

The universe had delivered after all.

Meredith rushed to the phone.

“Can we meet for coffee?” she asked Janice. “I’ve something to tell you.”

“Sure, come round to my place. I’ve something to show you, too.”

* * * *

“Amazing!” Janice said. “I knew it would happen!”

“What were you going to show me?” Meredith glanced around, but could see none of the things Janice had asked for.

“In here.” Janice led the way to the spare bedroom. “Oh!”

There it was – everything Janice had asked for. A doll’s-house, complete with furniture, toy cars, even the horse and carriage.

“Told you,” Janice said proudly, opening the front of the doll’s-house to show Meredith the inside.

“Found it all in charity shops. It’s for the playschool. They haven’t got much money and –”

Meredith gave her a hug, ashamed she’d thought Janice so shallow when she had such a big heart.

* * * *

The following weekend, Ben dropped Meredith off after their day of clearing the woodland.

“Come in for a coffee?” she invited.

He nodded happily, but halfway up the garden path stopped.

“Look!” Ben was gazing at the ground again.

Then she saw them: tiny green shoots, the beginnings of the bulbs she’d planted. Just a few here and there, but it was enough.

The slight rustle of leaves heralded the brief appearance of the hedgehog once again.

She glanced up at the sky and saw the sun was setting, leaving streaks of pink and gold in the clouds.

“A sign of good weather to come,” Ben said, gently taking her hand as they made their way inside, closing the door against the frosty February afternoon.

The End.