10 Seed Savers

Lily

 

“ Lily, this is Aaron, I ’ m Meg. How was your ride? ”

“ Um, fine, ” I answered, still reeling from the sight of the white truck. “ It wasn ’ t that far. ”

Meg laughed, her laugh a tinkling wind chime. “ That ’ s true, ” she said, eyes sparkling. “ How did you like Abner and Evelyn? ”

“ T hey were great, ” I answered honestly. “ Like no one I ’ ve ever met. ”

I saw Aaron smile, though he remained quiet.

“ Or likely to meet, ” Meg said. “ They ’ re one of a kind. Everybody loves them. ”

Meg asked a lot of questions but nothing incriminating. There seemed to be an unwritten code about knowing too much about anyone. In my case, however, nearly every question held secrets: my family, my friends, what I did in my spare time. My answers were bare-boned and flat. Eventually silence won. The thing about silence though, is that it ’ s not really there. Inside the silence is the noise of everyone ’ s thoughts competing to break out. S ome people will never break the silence until an opportunity to speak opens so wide it can ’t be denied. And that was Aaron. A fter several minutes of masquerading calm, I heard Aaron ’ s voice for the first time.

“ I suppose you ’ re curious as to why Ab and Ev wanted you to meet us? ” He turned as he spoke. His blue eyes matched the flowers on the Hawaiian shirt he wore but conveyed none of the lightheartedness.

“ Yeah, ” I offered. “ I guess. ”

“ Did they tell you anything? ”

“ No, just that you were young people in the Movement and they thought we should meet. ”

He nodded, looking straight ahead again, silent.

“ Almost there, ” Meg chirped.

I looked around . W e were surrounded by large building s. “ What is all this? ”

“ You ’ ll see. ”

 

I couldn ’ t believe my eyes. R ow after row of clean, antiseptic-looking strawberries dangled, heart-shaped and red , over the edge of stacked white pots. I had never seen anything like it. The berries looked nothing like the frozen ones I ’ d tasted at Abner and Evelyn ’ s. Instinctively, I reached my hand toward the jeweled red fruit, some bespeckled with seeds, others completely smooth.

“ Go ahead, ” Aaron said. “ Taste one.” He plucked one from its stem and handed it to me. Unlike the blueberries I ’ d eaten at Ana ’ s house, the strawberry was too large to pop into my mouth. I took a bite, not sure what to expect. How can I explain it? It was soft, but firm . Not crunchy, not chewy. Flavorful, sweet, moist.

“ Mmm, good, ” I said. “ I like berries. I had some blueberries back home. ”

Aaron had gathered several more strawberries and filled my hands. “ Enjoy. ”

“ How does it work? ” I asked when I ’ d eaten my fill. This wasn ’ t a garden. We weren ’ t even outside. There was no soil. We stood inside a spacious building, bigger than any I ’ d ever been in, with whirring fans and transparent ceilings. The temperature was pleasant, not extreme like outside.

“ Have you ever heard of hydroponics? ”

I shook my head.

Aaron told me that hydroponics was a way of growing plants without soil. The plants we re grown directly in a water and nutrient solution , saving water and space, and eliminating contamination from soilborne diseases. It allow ed the production of crops in areas where the outsid e temperature was too extreme. He explained long past my ability to comprehend, losing me in the technicalities. It sounded ideal; it looked ideal. It was overwhelming.

“ GRIM pretty much insists on it for certain crops such as strawberries, lettuce, herbs , ” Aaron finished.

“ W hat about Evelyn and Abner? They still use soil, don ’ t they? T hey grow for GRIM. ”

“ Yes, ” answered Aaron. “ They were ‘ grandfathered in .’ Like Meg said, everyone loves Ab and Ev . Even the GRIM agents in charge of the area. But farms like theirs are rare. And the berries from their farms are never sold as such. They ’re used only for flavoring in Sweeties, Juice, and Snacks. Or for extracts. ”

“ What do you mean? ”

“ I mean, the berries from soil farms aren ’ t sold as fresh berries, they are only used in berry-flavored products. ”

I was puzzling this out; he must have read my confusion.

“ Oh, you ’ re wondering about anybody buying fresh berries; I understand. The truth is, our berries are exported to countries where fresh produce is still sold to the public. ” He looked down a moment before reestablishing eye contact. “ And to the people in this country who are able to buy fresh produce—a very small percentage . T hose with power and money. I thought maybe you already knew. ”

I didn ’ t already know and hearing it made me mad. Speechless, I stared at the clean, abundant red berries, wondering how it was that my life so far had consisted of eating only the sealed and packaged remnants of this delicious fruit.

I turned my gaze back to Aaron with daggers in my eyes. “ How can you be a part of this? ”

He remained calm, as if he had foreseen my response, or maybe he had dealt with it before with others.

“Don ’ t look at it that way. Crops have to be grown by someone. Even though most people only have access to processed food, it all originates somewhere. It all starts as real food. ”

“ But it ’ s not fair! Everyone deserves a choice. ”

“ We agree, Lily. So why not be a grower, even if it means working with GRIM? Meg and I plan to be around to see things change for the better. ”

“ Lily, it ’ s very dangerous being both GRIM-sanctioned and a Seed Saver, ” Meg said quietly. Busy checking monitors and gadgets while Aaron and I spoke, she was just approaching as I lashed out.

I had forgiven Abner and Evelyn for working with GRIM easily enough . M aybe because they were old. Maybe because they seemed remorseful. B esides, they didn ’ t consider themselves officially a part of the Movement. Why was I having a harder time with Meg and Aaron ?

Meg started to say more, to try and explain, or to convince me out of my accusations. Aaron moved next to her and took her hand, communicating something without speaking. She stopped midsentence, excused herself, and left the building. Aaron, meanwhile, started walking around checking the plants, picking up where Meg had left off.

It was awkward being alone with him, but at the same time his presence was somehow soothing. There weren ’t —had never been—any men in my life. And though he was much younger than my father would be now, I recognized Aaron was probably the age my father had been when he first led Seed Savers. Despite my indignation, I f elt myself growing calm. Eventually I started following him, and he began to explain what he was doing. In this way I finally came around, my anger slowly dissolv ing like the nutrients in the water that fed the berries.

The hydroponic farm was remarkable . I peppered Aaron with questions: Was the resulting food as tasty as from plants grown in soil ? How many others used this method? Did small, illegal growers use hydroponics? I thought back to Arturo ’ s basement greenhouse—was he using water, or soil? I wasn ’ t sure. I hadn ’ t gotten close enough or talked to him long enough. Arturo …

 

That evening, at the house, we got down to the business of my visit.

“ Abner and Ev told us you are a Seed Savers y outh traveling south, that you asked questions about the Movement. Do you know the secret symbols and passwords? ”

I stared blankly at Aaron.

Meg’ s light laughter relieved the tension. “ I’ d say that ’ s a no! ”

I reached into my pocket, fished out the paper Ana had given us. “ Here, ” I said, sliding it toward them. “ This is all I have. ”

Aaron picked the page up and held it for several moments, looking it over. “ And you got this where? ”

I talked fast. “ From Ana. She ’ s the one who was teaching us, me and my friends—they ran away. GRIM raided their house and Ana ’ s later on. Trinia Nelson was asking about me . . . ” I was blathering like an idiot, staring at my tightly clasped hands.

“ Trinia Nelson? ”

The seriousness of Aaron ’s voice jolted my eyes upward. “ Yes. She, um, she paid off a friend of mine to spy on me and Ana. ”

Aaron recoiled. “ What ’ s your relation to Trinia Nelson? Why would she be asking about you? ”