Jul 25, 2026 · 20 min · 12 segments
Sister Beverly gives Ana a paper envelope of sunflower seeds, and Ana plants them along the fence with plans for blooms taller than Dad. Then she discovers there is nothing to do but wait — and…
It was the tail end of summer when the days had gone heavy and golden and the evenings came on a little sooner than they had in June.
And it was on one of those evenings that Sister Beverly put an envelope in two on his hands.
It was only a plain paper envelope soft at the corners with sunflowers written across the front and pencil.
Inside there were seeds she had saved out of her own garden the year before, striped gray and white, and she poured a few into Anna's palm so she could see them.
These are the big ones, Sister Beverly said.
Grow taller than a grown man if you treat them right.
Anna looked at Dad.
Anna looked at the seeds.
Anna made a decision.
Taller than Dad, she said.
They planted them the next morning along the fence and the whole family had opinions about it.
Allison arrived with a diagram, because of course she did, and set little labeled stakes at the end of the road so no one would step on anything.
Addison studied the fence for a while with one finger against her chin and moved the whole row four feet to the left, because that was where the afternoon light came through.
And if a person was going to grow something beautiful, it might as well stand where the light would find it.
Ava Grace was given the watering can and used it the way she did everything, slowly and with great care, tipping it just so,
gently,
she instructed, nobody in particular.
They're babies.
Andy helped by sitting down in the dirt and patting it with both hands.
which put a good deal of the garden onto Andy and a good deal of Andy into the garden.
It was the tail end of summer when the days had gone heavy and golden and the evenings came on a little sooner than they had in June.
And it was on one of those evenings that Sister Beverly put an envelope in two on his hands.
It was only a plain paper envelope soft at the corners with sunflowers written across the front and pencil.
Inside there were seeds she had saved out of her own garden the year before, striped gray and white, and she poured a few into Anna's palm so she could see them.
These are the big ones, Sister Beverly said.
Grow taller than a grown man if you treat them right.
Anna looked at Dad.
Anna looked at the seeds.
Anna made a decision.
Taller than Dad, she said.
They planted them the next morning along the fence and the whole family had opinions about it.
Allison arrived with a diagram, because of course she did, and set little labeled stakes at the end of the road so no one would step on anything.
Addison studied the fence for a while with one finger against her chin and moved the whole row four feet to the left, because that was where the afternoon light came through.
And if a person was going to grow something beautiful, it might as well stand where the light would find it.
Ava Grace was given the watering can and used it the way she did everything, slowly and with great care, tipping it just so,
gently,
she instructed, nobody in particular.
They're babies.
Andy helped by sitting down in the dirt and patting it with both hands.
which put a good deal of the garden onto Andy and a good deal of Andy into the garden.
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