41 Home at Last
Lily
After our late lunch, Dad and I headed back to the cabin. I looked around as we walked, wondering where Arturo and Chief had gone. School had since let out, and dozens of kids ran around chasing soccer balls and each other. A raucous volleyball game was being played in the meadow.
We entered the cabin and sat at the small table. The past having been dealt with, I now focused on the present. “ So what ’ s happening now? ” I asked. “ Are you still the leader of Seed Savers? ”
“ A lot of people want me to be . . . but I ’ m not sure it ’ s for the best. I ’ m a fugitive, a convicted criminal in the eyes of the law. And . . . I messed up so badly. ”
“ But—”
“ I don ’ t know if I ’ m the right person for the job anymore. ”
“ You are! ” I shouted. I don ’ t know why I did it. I guess because he was my dad, and he was sort of a legend. “ Who else can bring the Movement together? ”
“ There is someone else now. Someone w ith a large base of support. Someone who has been able to communicate under the radar—like we did back then. ”
“ JALIL?”
He looked surprised. “ Y ou ’ ve heard of him? ”
“ Only on this trip, ” I admitted.
“ Do you know anything about him? ”
I shook my head. I only knew the name.
“ That ’ s exactly what worries me, ” Dad said. “ The thing that gives JALIL the most potential—no one knows anything about him—is the very thing that concerns me. For all we know, JALIL is a terrorist to our Movement. Not only do we not know a thing about him—like where he ’ s located, or if he ’ s a real person—but how does he communicate without being caught? ” He looked at me, but since I viewed it as a rhetorical question, I stayed quiet. He continued. “ L et’ s say JALIL is for real and considers himself a Seed Saver. I ’ m not sure I agree with his politics. ” He stopped.
I had nothing to add.
“ Oh, Lily, y ou ’ re just a little girl, why am I going on about this? ”
“ I am not a little girl! I ’ m thirteen. You can tell me everything. I’ m part of this now. It ’ s why I ’ m here. Trinia Nelson visited my friend! ”
“ You ’ re right. ” He went quiet, pensive. “We ’ ll figure it out, ” he said at last. “ Everything will be fine. ”
Arturo had eventually shown up, deciding perhaps, that if he didn ’ t interrupt my Dad and me we could quite possibly talk all night.
“ Oh my gosh ! ” I said when he told me what time it was . “ P oor Chief! ”
“ The chief left long time passing, ” he said.
“ Chief left? ”
“ Sure, why not? Don ’ t we arrive d to where we are going? ”
H e had a point .
“ He tell me you should stay at the house of Jenny Jakeo and I with t he family of Grandpa Ezr a. ”
The giant question mark on my face must have shown because Arturo laughed heartily. “ You been talking all day, Lily. I meet a lot of friends. ”
I looked at my father, wondering, of course, why I had to sleep at the home of strangers.
“ I’ m sorry, Lily, but they ’ re right. I only have one bed here. You ’ re welcome to the couch, of course, but I’ m sure you ’ll be more comfortable staying in a bigger place and with girls your own age. Everyone here is very nice. I f you ’r e staying a while, and based on what ’ s happened, I think you are, it would be good to get to know people. ”
“ But . . . ”
“ Is right, Lily. You still can speak with your papa every day, but this place ” —Arturo glanced around Dad ’ s spartan cabin —“ no there is room for you. The chief already . . . mmm . . . how you say . . . arrange.”
“ Made arrangements? ”
“ Yes, made arrangements. ” Arturo walked over to my father and stuck out his hand. “ Nice to meet you, Mr. Gardener. I don ’ t hear much about you, but I can say you have a daughter very wonderful. ” They shook hands.
“ Yes, I certainly do, ” my dad replied. “ And it seems she has a good friend in you. I look forward to getting to know both of you better. ”
“ I also. ” Arturo turned to me, “ Let’s go.”
“ Now?”
“ Yes, is time for dinner. A special meal is plan in meadow. You too, Mr. Gardener.”
As we approached the meadow, I heard many voices rising together in song. I couldn ’ t make out the words, but the depth of emotion and the way groups of voices split into parts and wove in and out of the whole was beautiful. When we got within view of the clearing, I beheld a sight I ’ ll never forget: a vast living circle of villagers who had gathered and were holding hands; the circle was ever growing as more and more people arrived and joined. When it grew too big and unwieldy, a large woman broke loose and took one strand of people with her, forming a new inner circle. The two circles, one within the other, stood singing.
Upon our arrival, we too, were swallowed into the rings of song. I realized the song was in two, maybe three, languages. I soon caught the chorus in English and began to sing along. It was something to do with rain. Rain down, rain down. Rain down love? Rain down love on your people? I wasn ’ t sure . . .
All I know is, it was beautiful: the song, the trees, the faces and voices. I felt small and insignificant, but warmly and completely loved. I closed my eyes, lifted my face in the twilight, and squeezing the hands of Arturo and my father, drank it all in.
I had made it. Home at last.
END OF BOOK THREE
Coming Next in the Seed Savers Series
In Seed Savers-Keeper, Clare, Dante, and Lily reunite and are hiding in an underground bunker at Seed Savers Headquarters. Meanwhile, Trinia Nelson intensifies her search for James Gardener. Earth Day parades turn into protests, and someone is leaking classified government documents.
Read the first chapter of Keeper now, and then order your copy of this fast-paced fourth book of the Seed Savers series!
1 Lily's Bad News
Whisper Creek Village — Smoky Mountains — September
I set down the warm cup of tea I’d been cradling in both hands. I had tried to drink it, I really had. But the tiny dried leaves stuck in my teeth or slipped down my throat despite my best effort.
“ Mr. Ezra —”
“ Grandpa Ezra.” A large gap-toothed grin threatened to erase his eyes.
“—i t ’ s been a pleasure meeting you. I, uh, I need to go see my dad now. ” I loved saying that, my dad. I rose to go.
The old man lifted his eyebrows and laughed. He stood, taking my hands, and held them in his. “It is good,” he said.
I smiled at the others and nodded goodbye. They raised their eyebrows. It cracked me up the way the Islanders often spoke with only their eyes.
Once outside I walked toward Dad ’ s cabin, squelching the urge to skip or laugh out loud, though the vanilla scent of Joe-Pye weed egged me on. I smiled and thought that maybe someday I would laugh as freely as the villagers.
Here ’ s what I ’ d learned about Grandpa Ezra and his clan in the time I ’ d been here: When the oceans rose and the islands were going under, his people were given asylum in the U.S. because of an agreement struck in the last century. Unlike other climate refugees who were relocated to specific areas, these Islanders were allowed to settle wherever they wanted. Although the Smoky Mountains seemed an unlikely place for people used to the sea, Grandpa Ezra didn ’ t see it that way.
To him the mountains are an island. The traditions and cultures of his people are kept alive here. The children are not swallowed up and changed by the dominant culture. “ It is important, ” the old woman Naomi had told me, “ that our children learn our ways. How to live off the land. How to play in the forest rather than a playground. ” I recalled her slow, deliberate voice and sparkling eyes: “ To share, to make music. To dance. Lily-girl, why walk when you can dance? ”
Why walk when you can dance? I skipped the rest of the way to Dad ’ s cabin.
I loved that the cabins here all had names and that Dad ’ s was called the Keeper after the underground newspaper he and Ma had created during the first resistance. I loved the plants that grew around it and hung from the eaves in pots and baskets. That Dad purposely attracted hummingbirds outside every window with his careful choice of flowers: red geraniums, orange nasturtiums, and pink petunias. He didn ’ t care if the colors clashed as long as the birds kept coming. I loved the way Dad said “winduhs ” instead of windows. ‘ Look out the winduh, Lily, ’ he said every time the hummingbirds zipped to and fro.
I loved so much about this place, about my dad . . . though we were still just getting to know each other.
“ What ’ s next? ” I asked my dad after a few minutes of small talk. I kept bringing up the Movement; he kept avoiding it.
“ I think we should let your mom know where you are. ”
“Sure,” I said. “You can do that?” He gave me a look that said, What do you think? I am James Gardener, after all. “Oh yeah, right.” I wasn’t about to bring up the security breach that had landed him in jail and devastated the Movement.
“ And maybe”—he was looking down, talking to his feet—“maybe send you back to her. ”
I didn ’ t see it coming. The happiness I ’ d felt seconds earlier dissolved like snow in hot water. Neither did I anticipate the tears. I ran toward the door with my head down. “ I just remembered something, ” I called back, keeping my voice steady.
“ Lily.”
“ Hey, slow down. Where you going? ”
I kept running, not wanting to explain my tears. Arturo ran after me, his hand soon catching my shoulder.
“ What ’ s up, Lily? ”
My nose was running and I sniffed as I met his gaze. “ Nothing. Just jogging. ” I sniffed again and dabbed my watery eyes. “ I think I have allergies. ” I watched his face closely. Was he struggling with the word allergy, or trying to decide whether or not to believe me?
“ Oh, ” he said at last. “ Me, too. ” He sniffed and coughed a dry little cough. “ I am not accustomed to this forest. ”
As we walked along the path I let the sweet mountain air calm and soothe me. “ It ’ s so beautiful here, ” I said. The woods were absolutely gorgeous. Changing their clothing in the fresh fall air, the trees were a kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows.
“Yes,” he agreed. “Very peaceful. And the weather is not so hot.”
“ I’ m learning the names of some of the flowers. These are false foxgloves, ” I said, breaking off the end of a purple stalk.
“ Like Aubrey’ s hillside. ”
“ Yes, I think so. And yesterday I learned black-eyed Susan and skunk goldenrod. ”
He smiled. “ Ew, skunk? It is stinky? ”
“ Hence the name. ” We laughed.
“ I like here, ” he said. “ Is better than the places we pass through. ”
“ But it was an adventure, ” I said. “ And it did have its scenic moments. ” I was thinking of the view from the fire tower and the place where we swam.
“ Oh yeah, ” he said. “ The birds here very good too, ” he added.
We went on like that for awhile, talking about nature, reminiscing about the incredible journey that brought us here. Before I knew it, I was crying again.
“ This is happy crying? ” Arturo asked, bewildered. Hoping, maybe.
I burst out in a combination laugh/cry as I turned and threw my arms around his neck, shaking my head no. He patted my back. “’S okay, Lily. ’S okay.”
Don't Miss These Books in the Seed Savers Series!
Treasure
(Seed Savers 1)
Lily
(Seed Savers 2)
Heirloom
(Seed Savers 3)
Releasing soon from Flying Books House
Keeper
(Seed Savers 4)
Unbroken
(Seed Savers 5)
FlyingBooksHouse.com
Special Note from the Author
In Seed Savers-Heirloom, Clare learns about hybrid, heirloom, and open-pollinated seeds. She also hears for the first time about seed libraries. Do you have a seed library near you? Be sure and check the resource section to learn more.
Lily and Arturo cover a lot of ground in Seed Savers-Heirloom . Lily learns about hydroponic gardening in Florida and sees a green vine overtaking areas in their trek north. Do you know which plant they see?
I hope you enjoyed Seed Savers-Heirloom ! It’s my favorite of the Seed Savers books. One of the reasons is that my grandma and grandpa sneaked into some of the characters. I bet you can guess who . . . even though they weren’t strawberry farmers in Florida.
About me … I have been poking seeds into the ground ever since I can remember. I grew up on a farm—berries mostly—and my mom planted a huge garden each year. My job as a child was to place seeds into the furrows Mom dug.
I still eat mostly according to the seasons, including harvesting and preserving about 100 pounds of peaches each summer.
The historical political references in the Seed Savers series are factual although I’ve changed the names of the corporations.
I have met farmers who were visited by “ the seed police”—men watching them on their farms and bringing lawsuits meant to shut them down after the farmer’s crops were contaminated by GM seeds of their neighbors.
On another note, I’ve seen children pull up veggies randomly in a garden in search of carrots because they didn’t know what carrot tops looked like.
And, of course, there is an organization called Seed Savers Exchange with whom I am not affiliated in any way.
There are many wonderful gardeners and seed savers in the world today. Maybe you are one of them. If you’re not, you can be!
Sandra Smith
Resources to Continue the Conversation
Seed Libraries & Seed Banks
http://seedlibraries.weebly.com/sister-libraries.html
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/seed-bank-information.htm
Hydroponic Gardening
https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/what-is-hydroponic-growing/
How to Fold Origami Cranes
Climate Refugees
Drying Herbs
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-dry-and-store-herbs-1403397
Why Soil Microbes Make You Happy
https://bestplants.com/how-dirt-makes-you-happy-antidepressant-microbes-in-soil-the-new-prozac/
Parasitic Wasp Larvae Video (**OH GROSS WARNING**)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMG-LWyNcAs
Qualla Boundary
http://blueridgeheritagetrail.com/explore-a-trail-of-heritage-treasures/qualla-boundary/
GM Food Awareness
http://www.kidsrighttoknow.com/
Saving Seeds
Gardening Programs for Kids: American Horticultural Society & Junior Master Gardeners
http://ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/youth-gardening/ncygs
More Food and Food Politics
https://www.foodpolitics.com/about/
Sources in Researching Heirloom
As always, for Seed Savers-Heirloom I did a lot of online research. My husband and I were also fortunate to take a driving trip through Tennessee and North Carolina, including a visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee Welcome Center, and Museum of the Cherokee Indian ( http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/ ). It was extremely valuable for me to experience the places Lily and Arturo traveled through.
Here are a few other sources used in researching Heirloom :
https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/longleaf-pine-ecosystem
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/science/earth/23adaptation.html
http://blog.seedsavers.org/blog/open-pollinated-heirloom-and-hybrid-seeds
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to everyone in my extended family for the support I received as I wrote Seed Savers-Heirloom the first time around.
Thank you to all my friends and fans who let me know you are Seed Savers fans— Andi , Rita , Carol, Juel . . . the list could go on and on. I truly appreciate the emails and words of encouragement.
Many thanks to my nieces, nephews, and schoolchildren I’ ve met. I love answering your questions and receiving your notes!
And of course, thanks to my new team at Flying Books House who have made the books so very beautiful.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandra Smith grew up on a farm with a tremendously large garden. She maintains that if you can ’ t taste the soil on a carrot, it ’ s not fresh enough.
Today, Sandra lives in the city with her husband, cats, and backyard hens. She grows a small, urban garden every summer. When she's not gardening or turning tomatoes into spaghetti sauce, Sandra often writes poetry or novels inspired by her garden. She is the author of the popular series, Seed Savers.
Sandra enjoys visiting schools and gardening events to talk about Seed Savers and food in general. Find out more about Sandra by visiting SeedSaversSeries.com or look for her on Twitter at @AuthorSSmith.