Sabrina

Sabrina HR 109 November 17th, 2010 Seedfolks Final RAFT

Fleur

I'm quite curious, so I'm told. So who could blame me when I saw the garden and decided to investigate further? So much has changed since I came here to Cleveland. It all started in my home city of Paris, France. I was a talented artist who had just finished graduate school the year before. I was 25, and //Artist//, a famous French art company, had just taken me on. They wanted me to go to America; Cleveland, Ohio, to be exact. I suppose they chose me because of my English minor in college. Anyway, they wanted me to sketch "Middle-Class American Life." I agreed immediately; //j'adore// adventures. I arrived in America excited and just the tiniest bit nervous. This was the first time I would be so far away from my native land. When I got to my apartment, I found that I lived next to an old woman named Ana. She brought me flowers, as a housewarming gift. Just like my namesake. //Fleur// means flower, you know.

"What kind are these?" I asked. "Poppies," she replied. I invited her in and we talked and talked. That night, I smiled as I fell asleep. I had found my first friend in this strange new land.

A few days later, I found the garden. I had just decided to take a walk and get a bit of fresh air, when I saw the garden. It was a gorgeous, with all sorts of things planted there. "Fleur!" A voice called out from above me. I tilted my head up to look. "Ana!" I exclaimed, surprised. "I see you've found our little garden," she said with a smile. "Yes," I replied. "I was thinking of sketching it." "Well, don't let me keep you." I brought a chair down from my apartment that day, and just sketched for the rest of the afternoon.

That evening, Ana invited me to her apartment. "So, how did you find our garden?" She asked me. "Wonderful," I replied. "It was very peaceful." "I would be down there myself if it weren't for my old age," she chuckled. "I do love watching people make something for themselves, though." "Do you think I could plant something?" I asked. "Why, of course, dear." She answered with a smile.

So the next day I went out and bought some flower seeds and a shovel. I drove back to the garden and dug a plot of dirt. I worked the rest of the day, planting my flower seeds. One woman came up to me and asked me what type of flowers they were. I told her roses, tulips, and marigold. It was the first time anyone other than Ana had spoken to me. I think that woman gave everyone else courage to approach me.

For the next week I worked in the garden. I was comfortable there. The ladies adored my accent. Everyone asked me about France. When I told Ana about the marigold that I planted for her, she was overjoyed. I felt like part of a community. Then one day I met Curtis. We talked and talked. He told me about his ex-girlfriend Lateesha. I felt bad for him, and a bit surprised that they didn't get their happily ever after. He brushed it off and said he had a plan to re-capture Lateesha's heart. I smiled. That was so sweet.

Later on that day, I realized that Lateesha lived right across from me. I went over to her apartment and introduced myself as her neighbor. She welcomed me into her home. As with everyone else I had met, we talked and talked. I was comfortable there, with Lateesha. We got to know each other better throughout the next week. I enjoyed our talks. It was like having an older sister.

Then I met Kim, the girl who had started it all. I learned that her father had died. How horrible! I also met Maricela, angry with the world and wanting her baby to die. I was shocked. Why would anyone want that?

Over the next month, I met Wendell, Tio Juan, and many other people who had been through pain, confusion, and sadness. As with Maricela, I was shocked.

I finally cracked the day I saw a bottle flying out a window and into someone's plot of baby carrots. The person who owned the carrots threw the bottle straight back into the window. Five more bottles came flying out after that. I leapt up and ran to Ana's apartment. I told her everything; how people were so cruel to each other, how much dishonesty there is, ad how shocked I was by it all. She rocked back and forth in her rocking chair. Then she looked up at me, her eyes knowing and wise. "Yes, dear, you're right," she said. "There is pain, heartache, and betrayal in this world. But there is also hope, joy, and laughter." She saw my confused face and continued, "It is a tragedy when a flower catches blight and dies. But it is also a miracle when a flower blooms for the first time. It's up to you to make that flower bloom; to make happiness happen." I smiled and stood up. "Thank you, Ana." I felt better, but not much. Around 4 o'clock, Lateesha rang my doorbell. "Lateesha!" I said, surprised. "Fleur," she replied hurriedly. "I need to talk to you." "Well, come in," I said. Over the next half hour, she told me about her decision to take Curtis back, and how she had doubts about it. After she left, I felt like I understood Ana's words. You have to //make// happiness happen.

I asked Curtis and Lateesha to meet me in the park the next day. I didn't go to the park, I just let them "chance" upon each other. The next day I saw them in the garden holding hands. A week later, I applied for a five-year Visa.

THE END

Character Voki:

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