The Harvest Of Hardship - S01 E23

Story 3 weeks ago

The Harvest Of Hardship - S01 E23

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 23

The sun was going down behind the big buildings of the city. The sky was turning a soft pink and purple color. In the small room in the slum, Aunt Clara was standing in front of a tiny piece of broken mirror. Her hands were shaking. She was trying to look her best. She was wearing an old blue dress. This dress was many years old. It had many small holes and tears in it. Clara had spent the whole night before mending it. she used a thin needle and some blue thread. She had worked very hard to hide the holes so that nobody would see them. She wanted to look like a mother who was proud of her son. But deep inside, Clara felt very afraid. She felt like a little mouse trying to walk into a palace of lions.

David, was waiting for her near the door. David looked much better now. Since Seyi had moved him to the city, David had been eating good food. His face was full and his eyes were bright. He was wearing a simple but clean shirt. He was looking at Clara with kind eyes.

Are you ready, Clara? David asked. His voice was soft. We should not be late. Seyi has invited us to a very special place. He said it is the best restaurant in the whole city.

Clara nodded her head. I am ready, David, she said. But my heart is beating very fast. I have never been to a place like that. I am just a woman from the slum. What if I do not know how to sit? What if I do not know how to use the silver forks?

David took her hand. His hand was warm and strong. Do not worry, Clara. He is the one who invited us. He loves us. He just wants us to share in his joy.

Everything will be okay.

They walked out of the slum and took a taxi. As the car drove away from the dirty streets and toward the part of the city with the bright lights, Clara felt like she was traveling to a different planet. The buildings became taller. The roads became smoother. There was no trash on the ground here. There were flowers planted in the middle of the street. Everything looked so rich and so clean.

The taxi stopped in front of a very large building made of white stone. There were many expensive cars parked in the front. A man in a gold uniform opened the door of the taxi for them. Clara felt very shy. She held onto David’s arm very tightly. They walked up the wide stairs and into the restaurant.

Inside, the air smelled like roses and expensive spices. There was soft music playing in the background. It was the sound of a piano. The lights were not bright. They were warm and golden, like the sun at five o’clock. The floors were covered in a red carpet that was so soft it felt like walking on grass. There were large mirrors on the walls with gold frames. Clara looked at herself and felt very small in her mended dress. But David just smiled and led her forward.

A waiter in a black suit came to them. Good evening, he said. Are you here for the table of Mr. Seyi?

Yes, David said. We are his parents.

The waiter bowed his head. Please follow me, he said. Mr. Seyi is waiting for you in the private garden area.

They followed the waiter through the large room. Clara saw many people eating. They were laughing and talking quietly. They had sparkling glasses of water and plates of food that looked like art. Finally, the waiter opened a glass door. They stepped out into a small, private garden. There were green plants everywhere and small lights hanging from the trees like stars.

In the middle of the garden, there was a table. A man was sitting there. He was wearing a dark suit that fit him perfectly. He looked like a king from a storybook. His hair was neat and his face was calm. It was Seyi. When he saw them, he stood up. He had a big, warm smile on his face.

Mother, Father, Seyi said. He walked over and hugged David first. Then he turned to Clara. He took her hands and kissed her on the forehead. I am so happy you are here. Please, sit down.

Clara felt tears coming to her eyes. She felt so much shame when she looked at Seyi. She remembered how she used to treat him. She remembered how she used to give him the smallest piece of meat and the biggest pile of work. And here he was, treating her like a queen.

But as Clara started to sit down, she noticed that there was another person at the table. This person was sitting in the shadows. When the person stood up, Clara’s heart almost stopped.

It was Tobi.

But it was not the Tobi she knew. It was not the Tobi who was always crying or complaining. This Tobi was wearing a suit. It was a simple suit, and it was not as expensive as Seyi’s suit. But it was very neat and very clean. Tobi’s hair was cut short and his face was bright. He looked strong. He looked like he had been working in the sun, but he did not look tired. He looked proud.

Tobi walked over to Clara. He did not wait for the waiter. He pulled out the heavy chair for his mother. He waited for her to sit down and then he gently pushed the chair forward.

Good evening, Mom, Tobi said. His voice was not high and whiny anymore. It was deep and steady.

Tobi? Clara whispered. You look so different. Where did you get this suit?

Tobi sat down next to her. I bought it with my own wages, Mom, he said. I have been working very hard at the office. I saved my money for three weeks to buy this. I wanted to look nice for this dinner. I wanted you to see that I am not a beggar anymore.

Clara looked at her son. She looked at his hands. They were not soft anymore. They had some scars and some hard skin from the mop and the bucket. But they were clean. She looked at his eyes and she saw a man. She did not see a lazy boy. She saw someone who knew the value of a dollar.

The waiter brought some food to the table. It was the most delicious food Clara had ever seen. There were vegetables that were bright green. There was chicken that was golden and crispy. There was rice that smelled like heaven. For a long time, nobody spoke. They just ate and enjoyed the peace of the garden.

Finally, Tobi put down his fork. He looked at Clara. He took a deep breath.

Mom, I have something I want to say to you, Tobi said. I want to say I am sorry. I am sorry for being a burden to you for so many years. I am sorry that I let you do everything for me. I am sorry that I was lazy and that I made you cry. I thought that being a man meant having people serve me. But Seyi has taught me the truth. Being a man means serving others. It means working hard even when your back hurts. I am just a janitor right now, but I am the happiest I have ever been. I am earning my own way.

Clara felt a big lump in her throat. She could not speak. She looked at Tobi, the boy she had tried to protect from every little bit of pain. By protecting him, she had almost destroyed him. She had made him a weakling who could not stand on his own two feet. It was only when she stopped protecting him that he began to grow.

Then Clara looked at Seyi. She looked at the giant he had become. She remembered the malice she had in her heart for him when he was a child. She remembered how she tried to break his spirit with hard work. She had given him the heaviest loads. She had given him the longest chores. She had treated him with coldness and anger. She had wanted him to fail.

But as she looked at Seyi’s calm and successful face, the truth finally hit her. It was a very loud and clear truth. Her malice had been Seyi’s medicine. Because she was hard on him, he became strong. Because she gave him work, he became a leader. Because she did not give him a soft life, he learned how to build a hard life into something beautiful. Every bad thing she did to him was actually a gift that made him a king.

Clara looked at both boys sitting at the table. She saw the two sides of the same coin. She saw the boy she tried to break, who was now a giant in the city. And she saw the boy she tried to save, who was finally becoming a man because he was finally feeling the weight of the world.

She realized that the harvest of hardship was not just about money or cars. It was about the soul. Hardship had saved Seyi a long time ago. And now, hardship was saving Tobi too.

Clara looked at her tired hands. She looked at the blue thread on her dress. She felt a great peace come over her. The secrets were gone. The lies were finished. The harvest was being gathered.

I have been a very foolish woman, Clara whispered to herself. But God is very kind. He took my badness and turned it into goodness for Seyi. And He took my son’s failure and turned it into a new beginning.

David reached across the table and took Clara’s hand. Are you okay, Clara? he asked.

Clara smiled. It was a real smile. It was the first real smile she had felt in many years. I am more than okay, David, she said. I am finally seeing the truth.

Seyi raised his glass of water. A toast, he said. To family. And to the lessons that make us who we are.

They all raised their glasses. The glasses clinked together with a happy sound. The lights in the trees sparkled. The music from the piano was very sweet. It was a perfect moment. It was a moment of healing.

Is it over? Clara wondered. Is the hardship really finished? Or is there one more test waiting for us in the dark?

Clara realized that her "malice" was Seyi's "medicine." Do you think people can grow better when they face difficult people?

Tobi bought his own suit with his wages. Why do you think this made him feel more like a man than when his mother bought things for him?

Seyi invited everyone to a fancy dinner even though they were mean to him in the past. What does this tell us about his character?

If you were Clara, would you feel more proud of Seyi’s success or Tobi’s new job as a janitor?

The Medicine of the Soul!

The truth has come out at the dinner table! Clara has finally realized that the hard life she gave Seyi was the very thing that made him a king. And Tobi is finally finding his own strength by working from the bottom. The family is healing, and the love is returning.