The Harvest Of Hardship - S01 E15

Story 4 weeks ago

The Harvest Of Hardship - S01 E15

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 15

The morning of the graduation day arrived like a bright and shining promise. The sun rose over the university campus, painting the sky with colors of gold, pink, and orange. It was a day that many people had been waiting for. For some, it was a day of victory. For others, it was a day of deep and quiet thought. The campus was very beautiful. The grass had been cut perfectly. The flowers were blooming in red and yellow. Large white tents were set up on the big green field. Thousands of chairs were lined up in neat rows. You could hear the sound of music playing from big speakers. You could smell the scent of expensive perfumes and delicious food being prepared for the celebrations.

But away from the center of the field, in the very last row of the very last tent, sat a woman. This woman was Aunt Clara. She did not look like the woman who had walked onto the campus years ago in her bright yellow lace and tall headtie. Today, Clara was wearing a dress that was very old. The fabric was thin and the colors had faded until they looked like the color of dust. She did not have any gold bangles on her arms. She did not have a fancy bag. She sat very still, with her hands folded in her lap. She was trying to hide. She did not want anyone to see her. She stayed in the shadows, watching the happy families walk past her. She saw mothers hugging their children. She saw fathers laughing and taking pictures with big cameras. Clara felt a heavy weight in her chest. It was a weight made of regret and sadness.

A few minutes later, the music changed to a slow and serious tune. It was the music for the graduation walk. The students began to come out in a long line. They were all wearing black gowns and square caps with tassels. From far away, they all looked the same. But as they got closer, you could see the truth.

At the very end of the line was Tobi. He was walking slowly. He did not look like a prince. He did not look like a champion. Tobi had barely finished his school. He had failed many tests and had to take them again and again. He was only graduating because Seyi had helped him study and because the teachers had shown him mercy. But the saddest part was how Tobi looked. His black graduation gown was a mess. It was covered in deep lines and wrinkles. It looked like it had been crushed at the bottom of a heavy bag for a year.

Tobi did not know how to fix it. In his tiny room in the slum, he had looked at the wrinkled gown and did not know what to do. He did not know how to use an iron. He did not know how to use the steam from hot water to make the fabric smooth. He had never learned how to take care of his things because his mother had always done it for him. He stood at the end of the line, looking down at his feet. He knew everyone was looking at his messy clothes. He felt the burning heat of shame on his neck. He was a university graduate, but he was a man who could not even prepare himself for his own big day.

Then, the announcer called for the top of the line to come forward. At the very front of the students stood Seyi. Seyi looked like a different person. His gown was perfectly smooth. His cap sat straight on his head. He walked with a back that was as straight as a tree. He was not looking at the ground. He was looking forward with eyes that were full of light. Seyi was not just graduating. He was the star of the whole school.

The principal of the university stood up and walked to the microphone. The whole field went silent. "Today," the principal said, "we give a very special award. This is the Student of the Year award. We do not give this award just for high grades. We give it to the student who showed the most entrepreneurial spirit. This means the student who did not wait for things to be given to him. He is the student who worked hard, started businesses, helped his classmates, and showed us that work is a gift."

The principal smiled and looked at the papers in his hand. "This year, the award goes to Seyi!"

The crowd exploded with noise. People were standing up and cheering. Students were shouting Seyi's name. Seyi walked up to the stage. He shook the principal's hand. He held the gold trophy high in the air. He was the boy who had arrived with a sack of garri. Now, he was the best student in the entire university.

From the back of the tent, Clara watched her nephew. She saw the gold trophy. She heard the thousands of people clapping for the boy she used to call a servant. Then she looked at the very back of the line. She saw her son Tobi, standing alone, looking at his wrinkled gown.

A terrible thought came into Clara's mind. It was a thought that hit her harder than any slap. She realized that she had made a very big mistake. For many years, she thought she was being a good mother to Tobi. She thought that by doing everything for him, she was making his life easy. She thought that by giving him a life of ease, she was giving him a life of happiness. But now, she saw the truth. By doing everything for Tobi, she had actually built a prison around him. It was a prison of incompetence.

Incompetence is a big word, but to Clara, it was very simple now. It meant that Tobi was a man who did not know how to do anything. He was a man who could not survive without her. She had stolen his strength. She had stolen his ability to learn. She had tried to give him a kingdom, but she had actually left him with nothing but a wrinkled gown and a heart full of fear. She had treated Seyi like a servant, and because of that, Seyi had become a giant. She had treated Tobi like a king, and because of that, Tobi had become a shadow.

After the ceremony ended, the field was full of people. Many people in expensive suits began to crowd around Seyi. These were recruiters. Recruiters are people from big companies who look for the smartest and hardest working people to come and work for them. They were giving Seyi their business cards. They were offering him a lot of money to come and join their offices in the city. Seyi was surrounded by success.

Tobi stood by a tree, far away from everyone. No recruiters came to talk to him. His friends from the early days were nowhere to be found. He stood alone, holding his rolled up paper. He looked like he wanted to cry, but he was too tired for tears.

Suddenly, the crowd parted. A very tall man walked through the field. It was Senator Ademola. He was wearing a beautiful white outfit and he had a big smile on his face. The Senator walked straight past the teachers. He walked past the deans. He walked straight to Seyi.

The Senator reached out and shook Seyi's hand with a very firm grip. "I told you to call me when you graduated, son," the Senator said. His voice was loud and clear. "But I decided I could not wait for the phone call. I came here today to see you win. Your place in my office is ready. You start on Monday."

Seyi thanked the Senator with a polite bow. He did not look surprised. He looked like a man who knew that this was the result of his own hard work. He had planted seeds of effort for four years, and now he was harvesting the gold.

Aunt Clara watched all of this from the shadows. She felt so small. She felt like she was disappearing. She started to turn away. She wanted to leave the campus and go back to the slum. She did not want Seyi to see her. She was too ashamed of what she had done. She was ashamed of the lies she told about the book money. She was ashamed of the way she had treated a boy who was only trying to live.

But just as she was about to walk behind a large building, Seyi turned his head. It was as if he could feel her eyes on him.

His eyes moved across the crowd, past the recruiters, past the Senator, and past the happy parents. His eyes stopped right on Clara.

Clara froze. She expected to see anger in Seyi's eyes. She expected him to point at her and tell everyone what a bad person she was. She expected him to laugh at her old, faded dress. She waited for the fire of his revenge.

But Seyi did not look angry. He did not look like he wanted to hurt her. He looked at her with a very strange expression. His eyes were soft. He looked at her for a long time, and then he gave her a small, slow nod.

Seyi did not look like he hated her. He looked... grateful.

Clara gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She understood why. Seyi was grateful for the hardship. If Clara had been kind to him, he might have become like Tobi. If Clara had given him a life of ease, he might be standing at the back of the line with a wrinkled gown. Her cruelty had been his gymnasium. Her chores had been his training. Because she tried to break him, she had actually made him unbreakable. She was the one who had accidentally built the man who was now shaking hands with the Senator.

Clara turned around and walked out of the university gates. She did not look back. She walked toward the dusty road that led away from the lights and the music. Behind her, she could hear the cheering continue. She could hear the sound of success. But in her heart, there was only a cold silence. She had lost her son even though he was standing right there. She had won the battle in the village years ago, but she had lost the war of life.

Seyi looked at Clara with gratitude. Do you think it is possible to be thankful for people who were mean to us if they made us stronger?

Clara realized she had given Tobi a "prison of incompetence." What are some things parents can do to make sure they are not making their children too dependent?

Tobi’s gown was wrinkled because he didn't know how to steam it. Is this a small problem, or does it show a much bigger problem in his life?

The Senator did not wait for Seyi to call him. Why do you think a powerful man like the Senator was so eager to hire a young graduate like Seyi?

Seyi has risen from a servant to a superstar, and Tobi has learned that money without skill is just a wrinkled dream. The "Harvest of Hardship" has shown us that what we do today determines what we will reap tomorrow. Aunt Clara's secret is out, and her pride has been turned into a lesson for the whole world!