Godspeed, Fruit Son
a dream I had after eating a Wendy's salad
Sat Mar 20 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
My wife and I moved to a beachside cabin, where we started growing fruits and vegetables in a little boxed garden. Why yes, I am still playing Stardew a lot. I have farming on the brain.
We tried to grow watermelons, but our vine wouldn't produce fruit, except for a tiny little piece of a melon with no rind. So we researched it out, and came to the conclusion that we must have planted the wrong seeds. But we were a bit at a loss as to how it happened.
So we went out to our garden to double check. Waiting for us was that little piece of a melon, who had grown little arms and legs, and was wearing a little adventurer's backpack. He looked up at us, then without saying a word, he turned and began to walk out of the garden. Onto the beach he marched, and towards the ocean. We kept picking him back up and placing him back in the garden, and he would look at us as if we are keeping him from his grand purpose before trying to escape again.
As it turned out, we HAD grown an adventuring melon by mistake, and when the fruits were ripe they would depart on their own little quest to see the world. He was just trying to do his job as nature intended. And while it broke our heart that we wouldn't have more seeds to grow more melons, or have a tasty watermelon to eat, we knew it was far more important to support our adventuring melon son.
So we went out to the garden again to say goodbye to our new little friend. He was still there, just looking up at us again, like he was waiting for us. He paused for a moment, held his hands up in front of his mouth, and spit out a little pile of black watermelon seeds into his hands. He set them on the ground, gave them a little pat, as if there were a parting gift to us for raising him. I shed a single tear.
Then he turned around, and began to walk back out of the garden, and to the sea, one last time. We followed him, but we didn't try to stop him. We waded out into the water alongside him as he bravely ventured forth, into the unknown to discover fortunes untold.
We haven't seen him since. But some mornings, we will wake up to tend the garden, and find a small pile of watermelon seeds waiting for us on the welcome mat. Wherever he is, I hope he is being a good melon explorer. Godspeed, fruit son.
