Families logo

Pomegranate

Sometimes the simplest act of kindness can change someones whole world.

By Rebecca SpeirsPublished 3 years ago 11 min read
Like
Pomegranate
Photo by Arjun Kapoor on Unsplash

Jemima was 10 years old and could not remember a moment in her life when she had not been hungry. She knew her father worked hard to earn money, but she also knew that not a lot of it made it into her mothers worn leather purse, so there was rarely much food on the table and her two older brothers were quick to grab what there was. When she tried to fight them for her share, her mother stopped her saying that the boys needed it more than they did as they must grow into strong men, girls shouldn't eat too much anyway, no one wants a fat wife. After helping her mother clean the kitchen Jemima would lie in her bed telling her rumbly tummy to be quiet as she imagined the delicious meals she would make when she was a grown up and never have to share.

Jemima thought it was unfair that the boys still went to school. They played with their friends and learned important things that she was dying to know while she now had to go to the market with mother and buy food she rarely got to eat. A girl needs to learn to make a home her father had told her, not waste time learning things she would never use. Jemima's tears and begging had fallen on deaf ears. Her mother tried to comfort her telling her that cooking and making a nice home was lovely, but they both knew it was more resignation than what she truly believed.

The stalls of freshly baked cakes and bread, colourful fruits and vegetables, huge bags of grains and nuts seemed like treasures Jemima would never possess. As her mother carefully selected carrots and corn for the evenings meal, Jemima found herself staring at the most magical and curious looking fruit she had ever seen. It was vibrant red and appeared to have a small crown upon it, she had never seen such a fruit before and was overwhelmed by a desperate desire to have one for herself. She turned to her mother and using her most polite voice, asked her to please buy one. To her bitter disappointment her mother dismissed her request and told her not to be silly, it was too expensive and she didn't even know what to do with it. Jemima tried again and was told to stop being selfish and that sulking was very unbecoming. She sulked anyway, despairing at not having the strange fruit and her tummy rumbled in solidarity with her discontent. It wasn't fair, being a girl was stupid. She scuffed her worn shoes in the dirt with frustration, protesting to her mother that one day she would have her own money and buy whatever she wanted, her mother just smiled ruefully and said 'No sweetheart, you will have your husbands money and buy what he wants.' Jemima crossed her skinny arms and stated stubbornly, she would never get married, boys were too greedy and selfish.

The woman who owned the small stall watched on with mild amusement and pity for the young girl, who very much looked like she needed a good meal or two, and she handed the child one of the magical fruits. 'A gift.' she said kindly as Jemima took the fruit looking as though she truly had been given a precious treasure. 'There are delicious red jewels inside,' the woman told her smiling, 'I think you will like them.' Her mother appeared embarrassed, she quickly paid for her vegetables and thanked the woman, moving Jemima along quickly as she called out a heartfelt thank you to the woman over her shoulder smiling from ear to ear.

Jemima gazed in wonder at the magical fruit all the way home, she had no idea what it was or how she was to eat it but it she felt that it was the most special gift she had ever received. When they arrived home she sat at the kitchen table while her mother put away the shopping, turning the fruit over in her hands looking for a way in. Her mother offered to cut it in half for her but Jemima was scared that cutting it in half may damage the jewels inside so she just continued to turn it over in her hands gently, hoping she would see the right way to open it and see the delicious jewels.

Frustrated with Jemima's distraction and being of no help with the chores, her mother shooed her outside. Jemima sat on the front step, holding her treasure, becoming more and more concerned that she would never work out how to open it properly and that her gift would be wasted on a silly girl like her. Tears of frustration, shame and disappointment began to well in her eyes and she was about to throw the fruit into the street, when their neighbour, Mrs Mason walked past looking wild and unusual as she always did, wearing baggy mens work trousers and a button up gray shirt. Her greying hair as pulled up in a messy knot and she carried with her a bucket that appeared to have food scraps in it. She saw Jemima on the step and stopped. 'What have you got there?' She asked. Jemima burst into tears and sobbed 'I don't know, it was a gift and I am too stupid to know how to open it and get the delicious jewels out of it.' Mrs Mason put down her bucket and walked over to the child taking the fruit from her and smiling. 'It's a pomegranate.' She told her. 'Would you like me to show you how to open it?' Jemima nodded. 'Come with me and I'll show you.' Mrs Mason said walking to the gate and picking up her bucket. Jemima gratefully followed, yelling over her shoulder to her mother that she was going next door.

Mrs Mason's kitchen was wonderful, Jemima had never seen such a place. Drying herbs hung from the ceiling, There were seedlings crowded along the window sill and shelves full of bottled tomatoes, lemons, beetroots, pickled cucumbers, and other vegetables Jemima did not recognise. The smell was wonderful, warm and delicious. Mrs Mason put the bucket of scraps near the sink and washed her hands, then she walked over to one of the shelves and pulled down a small black notebook and brought it over to the table in the middle of the kitchen. She motioned for Jemima to join her. Mrs Mason flicked through the pages of the notebook and when she found the page she was looking for placed it open on the table in front of Jemima. On the open pages Jemima saw sketches of her beautiful fruit and notes in loopy handwriting. 'To open your fruit we need to slice off both ends and then make four cuts in the skin here.' Mrs Mason told her running her fingertip over where the cuts needed to be made. 'Then we will gently pull it apart and carefully remove the seeds.' Mrs Mason when to a cupboard and brought out a bowl and picked up a knife from the knife block and placed them infront of Jemima. Jemima carefully followed her instructions and as she pulled the fruit gently apart gazed in wonder at the brilliant red jewels she had revealed from inside her fruit. One of the jewels fell into the bowl as she opened it and Mrs Mason encouraged her to taste it. As it popped in her mouth and she tasted the juice Jemima was sure she had never tasted anything so wonderful. 'This must be what magic tastes like.' she said dreamily to Mrs Mason, who smiled warmly at the young girl's happiness.

Together they removed all of the jewels from the fruit eating most of them as they went. Once they had finished, Mrs Mason said to Jemima, 'If we keep a few I can show you how to grow your very own pomegranate tree, then when it is fully grown you can have pomegranate any time you like.' Jemima looked at her wided eyed. 'Really! That would be wonderful. But how, these are so tiny, how could they make a whole tree?' Mrs Mason smiled, 'All fruits carry the seeds from which you can grow more of them, that's what my notebook is for, I keep notes on all of the fruits and vegetables that I grow.' She showed Jemima more pages of her notebook filled with sketches of fruits and vegetables and lots of loopy handwriting. 'Come and I'll show you.' She stood up and led Jemima to the back door and into the garden. Jemima had never seen such a beautiful garden. There were garden beds filled with herbs, bushes of eggplants and peppers, vines of cucumbers and tomatoes, lemon and lime trees and so many other plants Jemima did not recognise. She stared in wonder and she walked around the garden drinking in the wonderful scent of each plant. 'You must never be hungry.' She said in amazement. Mrs Mason laughed and said, 'No would you like to take some home with you?' 'Yes please.' replied Jemima. Jemima paused and looked up at Mrs Mason. 'Could I grow a garden like this?' She asked tenatively. 'Of course you could, why don't we start with your pomegranate?' Mrs Mason replied.

After selecting some fruits and vegetables for Jemima to take home, the two returned to the kitchen and Mrs Mason opened her notebook and read her notes on pomegranate. 'All we need to do is let these seeds dry out and then we can plant them in one of the small seedling pots.' So they selected a small handful of the jewels and placed them on a tea towel by the window. 'Lets give them a week and then they should be ready to plant.' 'A Week!' Jemima replied. 'That's ages.' 'These things take time.' Mrs Mason replied patiently. 'But they are well worth the wait. Would you like to help me with the other vegetables while you wait? I find it makes the time go quickly.' Jemima nodded. 'You are welcome to come over whenever you have free time to help, the company would be lovely.' Mrs Mason smiled.

Over the next few weeks Jemima spent every spare moment she had in Mrs Mason's kitchen pouring over the notebook or in the garden learning how to weed, water and feed the plants. She learned about worms and compost and how to collect seeds. When her pomegranate seeds had dried, Mrs Mason showed her how to pot them at the right depth so they could grow into seedlings. One of the happiest days of Jemima's life was when she arrived in Mrs Mason's kitchen and saw the first sprout starting to poke out through the soil. When the seedling was big enough to plant in the ground, Mrs Mason asked if she would like to take it home and plant in in her own backyard, but Jemima was worried her brothers might trample the tiny plant so she asked if Mrs Mason would mind if she planted it in hers. Together they planted the seedling, and watched it grow as they worked each day in the garden.

Jemima continued to help Mrs Mason with the garden every day and she even began adding her own notes to the notebook as she learned new things about the garden. Her pomegranate tree grew bigger each day and she cared for it lovingly. When the tree was four years old it began to grow its first fruit, Jemima's heart almost burst with joy. She watched it grow bigger each day as attentivly as a mother watching their baby. Months passed and finally the first pomegranate was ready to be picked. Jemima and Mrs Mason shared the first fruit and Jemima smiled to herself, this was truly magic and definitely worth the wait. 'Thank you Mrs Mason, this really was the very best gift I have ever been given.' She said to the woman who was now her dearest friend and teacher.

A few years after Jemima and Mrs Mason had enjoyed the first pomegranate, Mrs Mason passed away. Jemima was devastated, she sat in the garden and cried, feeling that her heart would never be happy again. As she cried, she didn't notice the man in the dark suit who had entered the garden, and was startled when he spoke. 'Excuse me Miss, are you Jemima Williams?' She looked at the man and nodded. 'I am Jonathon Simons, in charge of Mrs Mason's estate. I have a package for you.' He handed Jemima a large yellow envelope. Jemima opened the envelope gently and found Mrs Mason's notebook, tears began to well in her eyes again. Inside the cover of the notebook was a white envelope with her name written in Mrs Mason's loopy handwriting. She opened the envelope and read the letter it contained.

Dear Jemima,

I am so grateful to have shared my garden with you, it has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Ted and I did not have a child and I thought that my heart would never be truly happy without a child of my own, but I was wrong. Our time together made my life feel complete. I would like you to continue to enjoy our garden and as such have left my home to you. Mr Simons will give you the details. There are three things I wish for you to remember.

1. Take care of your garden and you will never go hungry.

2. A woman should take good care of her own finances, this will ensure her freedom to chose how she wishes to live her life.

3. A woman should only ever marry for love, someone who is her best friend and equal.

These three things have brought me a happy life and I wish the same or you.

Much love,

Matilda Mason.

Jemima read the letter and began to cry. Mr Simons placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and told her that Mrs Mason had no other family and so had left her estate to Jemima, including her home and savings of $20,000.00. Jemima stared at him in disbelief and began to cry again.

humanity
Like

About the Creator

Rebecca Speirs

I am a human, mother, midwife, writer and photographer. I am passionate about family and the individuals within them. I believe in self awareness and the continuous evolution of self and in the value we all have to contribute.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.