I jumped out of bed excited. The day was filled with great things in store just waiting for me to unleash. Finally, I was going to begin my precious journey and the excitement I felt was like none I had ever felt before. I said my prayers, not forgetting to thank the big man up there for the opportunity to plan and carry out the plan. I hopped into the shower, and didn’t spend more time than necessary in there. In no time, I was all dressed up, ready to begin my day.
It was time. I went to my bedside table to retrieve my precious seeds. I looked through the window, it was bright and sunny out there. The perfect weather to plant my seeds and I wasn’t going to miss that chance this day. I rushed down the stairs, placed my seeds on the kitchen counter and ran outside to grab the watering can. It was a little rusty due to lack of use; so I dumped it. I wanted to run to the gardening store to get another but it was too early for the shops to be open. So I decided to improvise in order not to drown my seeds. I went to the back shed, found an empty bottle, filled it with some water, poked holes at the bottom and then placed it upside-down in a bucket.
Next was to find the right spot for my tree to be. I didn’t think this part would be a hassle but I was wrong. I already knew where I wanted to plant but as I began to dig a little hole in the ground, my nosey neighbour walked by and said it was too close to her fence and that she didn’t want a tree obstructing her clear view in the future.
I moved on to another spot and began to dig, but the local government workers who were doing an inspection complained that it was too close to the road and that the roots of the tree could grow into the street, thereby cracking the tarred roads.
I moved on to spot after spot until I found the perfect spot, which didn’t bother anybody.
I went inside, got my seeds and scattered them in the hole. I covered up the soil and watered the spot. Excited that I had planted my seed despite all the obstacles, I sat and watched, waiting for it to grow. While I did so, people walked by, saying out loud that I had planted in the worst spot ever. They said the tree was never going to see the light of day, that I had wasted my whole day on mere seeds while everyone had been up doing something fruitful.
I was distraught. They seemed to be right. After spending my entire day trying to plant seeds, I was yet to see any improvement in the soil. My mother then came out and urged me to go in and have dinner. I did so and then went to bed. Through the night, all I could think about was my seeds that hadn’t grown into a tree. As soon as the sun was up, I jumped out of bed and ran to the garden. But there was no improvement. This was the case day after day until one day when I decided to just keep on watering my seeds patiently.
Alas! This was the trick. In no time, my seeds began to sprout daily and now I get to enjoy its sweet and succulent fruits; personal and retail while sitting underneath its relaxing shade.
Don’t let the dream-killers get you.
Oluwaseyi Lawal
