Daisy in Hand

Tessa.. Hello. My name is Tessa. I live with my grandparents at the outskirts of Georgette. Nothing is interesting as we live in a small town surrounded by simple people. Most people of Georgette work hard in mostly farms and in livestock keeping as there only source of income. I've been raised by my grandparents since i was four years old just after my mom died from a heart ache i never wanted to be told the source of. I never knew my dad as a matter of fact i never wish to cross paths with him. Because deep down i know he never wanted me at first place. Thats the reason why he never called and the first time he was told that my mom was pregnant he flea away leaving my mom to bear the outcomes by herself. I always believed my mom to be a strong woman, but she wasn't strong enough as she let her emotions sway her and eventually died from depression as a result of an heartache. I didn't need any one to explain that to me at a young age of four. Because since then and before i saw the down side of her smile and the shadows behind the light laughter she had. She always thought she knew how to hide them well. But as a kid i felt her true expression. Her night cries, were like a soft sardonic lullaby on my ears. As a tear always dropped from me whenever she dropped hers. She never saw me feeling her ache. Maybe if she could, she wouldn't have allowed herself to die in such misery. Since she died every night, i could hear her soft cries from afar. The only thing that saves me from this, is that I believe my mom wasn't strong enough. In return i had to be strong for her. For fifteen years I've been living and raised as a farm girl. Early in the morning i grabbed my farm tools and walked along my grandpa's footsteps to the two hectares farm that was near the house. He taught me most things he knew and I appreciated it all as i became to have a much interest and passion of plants. From food to flowers. We plant different kinds of crops like green beans,maize and groundnuts. Grandpa usually plants all these in the same farm. They both are planted in one season and their harvest time varies in a short time. "Tessa " my grandpa called me as he was about to plant his last seed of maize. " i hope this season brings a lot of harvest like the last one did. That way you'll be able to enroll in college " I smiled knowing that I'll eventually be a degree graduate in four years to come. "Yes grandpa, and I'll be able to buy you lots of seeds, those which are pest and drought resistant. The hybrid ones grandpa and we won't have to worry on the rain. And buy a bigger farm that you wouldn't have to worry running out of food " Here in Georgette most farmers are poor. Affording quality seeds is hard for most of us. The raise of the price of seeds in the market increased just as the new mayor of the town got elected. We thought he would care for the low income farmers like us but in return he didn't. So we just use the seeds we harvest from last season. This doesn't guarantee us to have good harvest in the future as some harvest yield seeds that are diseased. We then only depend on the natural way of farming like mixed crop cultivation, the use of organic manures and depending on rainy seasons to yield high quantity of crops although it doesn't march with the big farmers that own ranches. We finished our work for the day and headed back home. A smell of tea and roast potatoes from the kitchen where grandma was made my stomach roll. "I never thought i was hungry till now" i smiled at grandma who gave me a smile back. " i hope the tea relieves the growl of that tummy of yours. " she said handing me tea. "Yeah sure it will grandma, but am more relieved that you stayed behind leaving all the farm work to us" "You know am still not okay with the idea. What little harm will this planting season have on me. ?" She said heading to grandpa who was still by the door cleaning his boots. "Honey, its for the best. Your back aches and joint pains are more painful as days go on. I think its for the best, that you stay here love" grandpa said as he finished with his boots removing every bit of debris around them placing them inside on the shoe shelf leaving me the work of cleaning them later on. We both sat on the table and ate the breakfast that grandma prepared till my tummy was full and i couldn't take much more. "There's more potatoes on the stove Tessa" grandma said sipping her tea, knowing that i was so full. "Thanks for your motive of making a chubby out of me" i replied and that made her grin. "We've ran out of firewoods inside. We need more to keep us warm from the weather that is about to come" Grandpa said "There is some firewoods in the storage room. That might help in the mean time. Later on I'll head to the store house to get more" i told grandpa as i cleared the table. I washed the dishes as a hand laid on my shoulder. I turned to see grandpa's face "I'm sorry Tessa and am very proud of you. I don't know what could have happened without you around" "Grandpa. Its okay. You are parents to me. I have the obligation to do the big jobs " i said and i heard a chuckle from him. He patted me once more then left heading to his room. It was about evening when i took the wheelbarrow from the backyard and headed towards the store house that was a bit far from the house. I won't be able to take rounds carrying the woods to the house. One round will be enough if the weather will be heavy for tomorrow. The store house was built on our land. Grandpa built it and stored most of his crops, seeds, manure and sometimes firewoods. It had different sections whereby each necessity stayed differently. It took me thirty minutes to get to the store house. I loaded the firewoods and checked the safety of the store house before leaving. It was almost night as i closed and turned around to see a young man behind me. He was few feet away, even through the dark i could see his hands crossed leaning on a tree like he was observing me for sometime. My heart drummed as he got closer but my prayers to God to keep me safe never left my thoughts. "You aren't supposed to walk alone at this time. Its dark already. Aren't you scared?" He said as he walked towards and stopped as he noticed my backwards steps. "Hey, don't worry. Uumh....." finding the appropriate words to say "I'm Jack. Do you need help, Okay am sorry to startle you. Am a good guy. I won't hurt you. Maybe i could take you home. Its not safe for a girl out here. And you know that. " I was still silent and i thought he would leave already when he walked towards me taking hold of the wheelbarrow. "Come on. I won't bite." He said as he started pushing the wheelbarrow and i had to hold it at the front. "Thank you, but i can manage." I said as i took it from him heading home. "Okay what about walking you home" he said as he followed me. "I won't mind" i said as a smile lit up his face. Writer. ..............Hello. My name is Fida and this is my first story. Ride along with me. I would appreciate your comments and I'm sorry for any grammar errors that might occur.