An Unlucky, Lucky day

Under the stars she prayed, next to the trees she hoped. Token just like her name was unfamiliar with normal. An artist her whole life from a poor up bringing. She genuinely believed in magic, but was still very much so a realist. See Token had what most people in her life had deemed reverse luck. If it was easy, it was most likely be hard or unlikely for her but if it was hard or unlikely, then it would come to Token like a fresh breeze on a spring day. Complication was something she often found ways to deal with easily.

As a strong believer that a wretched start to life can make for some of the best endings, I promise, it gets better. As a baby Tokens first “home” was an old school bus filled with ants, that is one way to start to life huh?. *Laughs uncomfortably* Token was told by others that every night she would coo herself to sleep even in the worst of circumstance. By kindergarten, the bus was a forgotten memory and her coos had become actual singing.

She spent lots of time in the library because it was a free place to go, adventure and escape the trials of life. As her mind grew, she became an infinite possibility type of person. Some people hope to have just a single million-dollar idea in life. Token had them all threw out her day. (A mixture of having to survive early childhood, being an artist and keeping hope to change her world and the world kept her thinking) After a while Token started always keeping a piece of paper and pin on her so she might write down every thought that crossed her mind. She had no worries about if she would have more ideas. Instead, she wondered if she would be able to accomplish everything she thought of. If life even gave out the amount of time in 100 years to complete every idea. That was what kept her up most at night as she grew older. That an injustice, she had seen so much. Not just in her own youth but her friends had gone through atrocities too. This is what made her ideas so important to her, Token wanted to change the world, from her first breath, she wanted to bring light to the darkness, to be a star in the night sky or a tree planted, sharing nourishment with those around her.

For 15 years straight she had written down ideas daily, there were notes everywhere. Eventually she transferred all her ideas to a little black book, then continued to fill it. The ideas ranged from businesses, to recipes, from philosophy to scientific theory. Some pages had illustrations and others mathematic equations.

Around the age of 23 the little black book was starting to reach its end. Once it was filled, she would go on her own adventures to accomplish all that she dreamed of. She had followed many a friend down roads, but she was most excited to blaze her own trail. Curiosity had never left Token because truly it was how she survived never losing the glimmer of hope in her eyes. In her school years she had many labels put on her, but she did not like even one. She distained labels because it felt like a box made to fit like a tightly wrapped noose. Seemed socialite’s way of saying “well this is what you are, so this is what you will do”.

Token had technically been labeled a leader, but she did not feel that way. She did like guiding people towards their hopes and dreams but most of the leaders she had read about or had known were cruel and it had left a very sour taste in her mouth. She just wanted to create, making things was her favorite. She was not a fan of being shoved into a box called “Leader”. See to her even with magic the world seemed to lack wonder. People were either slaves to concepts they did not even believe in or so fringe that the world would not except them. If you did not fit inside a box, then they would often literally start tying you up with ropes. Token loved differences, for things and people not to be the same. She read in a book Hugo “if the world is a machine then everyone is an important piece working to keep it going” paraphrasing there but you should get the point. See Some pieces might be similar or even do the same thing, but they are all needed. If they are not trying to blow the world up, they should be treated as needed working parts. Sadly, reality did not comply with this view of thinking. Either get in the box or drowned on you own. That was the vomit most leaders seemed to hold the people of the earth at ransom with. Token knew in her brain how crazy it was to plan on changing the world, but she felt in her heart that maybe just maybe if she could accomplish even half of her ideas that it could make a difference. I mean if someone even changes one person’s life then that is an accomplishment to be proud of. Though she strived for more, this is what she held on to as she grasped her little black book. The hope that somewhere in its pages, there was a piece to the machine called life that would change the world for the better. That maybe as a creator she could create a new piece for herself and others who did not fit their box either. Token did not want to break the machine, but she most certainly wanted to change the way it functioned.

On her 24th birthday or “birth anniversary” as she liked to call it. (Because you know, you only actually have one day you are born.) She road the bus home like any other day and then went out dancing. The next morning, she woke up to one more idea, this to her was complete serendipity because this idea was just big enough to fill the last page. The day after her 24th birthday Token had finished what was around her millionth idea. This one to her was going to take the cake, it was for Eden. A community orchard to both live on and feed surrounding communities. She Reached into her book bag and all that she found was a copy of a Max Tucker book. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor, she felt what could be described as a heart attack or quite easily an anxiety attack. Frantically she started searching her room, had she drank too much, taken it out of the bag and did something with it? Flying threw the house she looked under sofas, on top of cabinets. Every square inch of the place was searched 100 times over. No luck on this day was located. Token kept hope that maybe just maybe someone had seen her book on the bus and turned it in. She road it everyday and the drivers at this point knew her by name. Running up to Jim she asked if he had seen the little black book on any of the bus checks form the day before or if anyone had turned it in. His answer was a big fat no. The heart that had always been so strong in the worst of times hit the floor. These were her dreams, the plans of her life just gone in one swoop.

She held back her tears and went about her day and then the next day. Then months past as she just worked a 9-5. Soon years had passed and though she still always told others to chase their dreams, Token no longer chased her own. Societies pressures had trapped her into the box she had most feared. The even worse feeling of never being able to change the world was like a giant black cloud that followed her everywhere she went. Raining down occasional tears when she found time in privet. Through these years the most she did creatively was give other people ideas. Never asking for credit in return because her once raging fire was now just an ember and mostly she just wanted to see someone, anyone reach their goals. This was something she had done before the little black book was lost but more so now because she had far more faith in others than herself.

Just before Token turned 30, she seemed to of gotten the wood together to turn that ember to a fire once more. See maybe she had lost many of her creations, but she had never forgotten Eden. Being so different her whole life, a true black sheep of here blood relations and never forgetting the time she spent on the Pecan orchard during the summers as a kid. Her biggest dream was geared towards a place for people to call home. It was not a feeling Token had known often, but it was something she loved to create for other people. Home cooked meals and decorations during holidays, hugs, birthdays, fresh food and fresh air all made her genuinely happy. Nature also was one of the greatest inspirations she had ever found for art. So, the idea of Eden was very purposeful to her, a place to learn and heal and grow with the Earth. On the day of her 30th birthday she made a promise to herself, Earth and universe that this idea would be the grand adventure and her purpose in life. For almost a year straight she focused on putting out art and sharing her idea with the world to accomplish her goal. Not so eventfully, the only person she had found to donate was herself. Sometimes this discouraged her, but she refused to give up.

One day as she worked on her content the doorbell rang. It was a friend from her past that she had once told to chase their dreams. They were holding a little black book but Token was so excited to see them she didn’t even notice. A giant hug later, the friend handed her the book and Token stared at it in aww. This was the book she had almost filled all those years ago. A friend of their friends’ friend had found it and started using it to change the world. Eventually they had all met each other and Tokens friend said they knew her.

The person who had been using the book was ecstatic, they had always wanted to find the writer and pay them back. Tokens friend handed her a 20,000$ check. She began to cry in front of someone for the first time in years. She was overflowing with excitement. She knew exactly where this money would go. She bought the first property for Eden shortly after, and with her now much bigger personal donation many more people started to get involved. Soon she had reached her goal and the orchard was built. Token was surrounded by friends that soon became family. She was at peace even with the stresses that came with running what grew to be multiple groves. Her favorite times of the year were still birthdays, and holidays but now harvest day was added. They held a festival and fed the communities around each orchard. Seeing all the people eat healthy made her glow and Eden became the legacy she was able to leave her son. There was inspiration for art and life everywhere in Eden. What a joy it was to of had one very unlucky day all those years ago, because it had led to the most luck Token had ever known, reverse luck at its finest.