Page 74 of Big Island Neighbors
“Planting seeds!” Olivia shouted.
“That’s right. Now you give Auntie Emma your attention. She’s got all the seeds.”
“Can we grow flowers?” one little girl asked.
“You sure can,” Emma told her. “I have lots of different kinds of flowers to choose from.”
“I don’t want to grow flowers,” a blonde boy groused.
“We have other things too. Beans, radishes…”
“I don’t want to grow vegetables either,” he said stubbornly.
“Do you like papaya?”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and gave a reluctant nod.
“We have papaya seeds too. Did you know that a papaya planted today could be taller than you in just a few months? In a couple years, it could be even taller than your grownups.”
“I want to grow papaya,” several kids clamored.
“We have enough for everybody. But first, who knows what a seed needs to grow?”
“Sunshine,” Olivia volunteered.
“That’s right. What else?”
“Rain!” yelled another girl.
“Dirt!” a boy shouted.
“That’s right,” Emma said. “Very good. I have good soil to share and containers to put it in. Then you’ll bring your seeds home, and the water and sunshine are up to you. See these containers over here? You can each fill these tiny pots with dirt and then come over to this table to choose your seeds.”
Several kids rushed the table, and ‘Olena fended them off.
“One at a time, and only after you have dirt to put them in.”
“And then ask me,” Emma said, “and I’ll help you get the seeds out of their packages so they don’t spill.”
Each kid chose their containers – there were larger pots for papaya seedlings and six-unit containers for smaller starts – and filled them with dirt. When they chose their seeds, ‘Olena andLani helped them to write down the names of each plant along with notes from Emma on how to best care for them.
By the time all of the seeds were safely tucked away and the containers were labeled with the kids’ names, it had stopped raining.
They let them loose in the backyard, and most of the kids ran straight for the puddles. Luckily it was another warm Hawaiian day, so they wouldn’t have to shiver.
Rory was eager to show her friends around, aided by her two cousins who had been coming here even longer than she had. A whole bunch of kids climbed up into the star fruit tree, and another group focused their efforts on catching the green anole lizards that darted about everywhere in search of a safe bit of sunshine.
Once all of the kids were happily occupied, Lani and ‘Olena found a spot to sit where they could see most of the goings-on.
“I found a place to live,” ‘Olena told her.
Lani looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t know that you were looking for a place to live.”
She nodded, her expression serious. “I’m too old to be living with my parents.”
Lani bit her tongue. She would do anything to be able to live with her parents, to have the chance for Rory to get to know her grandparents. But she also understood the drive to be independent, to have a place of her own.
“It’s right in town,” ‘Olena continued. “It’s just a couple houses down from the community center, which is perfect, because the woman who runs it just agreed to give me a room there.”
