Seeds
Farmer Lee woke up before dawn, just like always.
The air was cool, but that was expected. Though winter's full bite had waned, spring was not yet here. Things would start growing soon, and that meant much, but one specific need was foremost in Lee's mind: It was time to plant the seeds.
He had been born on this farm, had grown up on it, had lived his whole life on it. He would likely die on this farm, and that was fine. It was a good farm, had been in his family for generations. That there was no one to whom Lee could pass the farm was no concern. It wouldn't go to waste. It would either be divided up amongst his neighbors, or reassigned and a new family would start a farming dynasty here.
Though he lived in the green lands between the Outer and Inner Walls, Lee's farm was still technically in Ba Sing Se, and there was oversight for everything. Even the farms that fed the people.
Especially the farms the farms that fed the people.
As Lee ate his cold breakfast, he thought back to two days ago. The official who visited could have been in the army, or a member of the bureaucracy. Either way, he had worn a uniform, and that was enough for Lee. The official had brought news from the Wall and permission for Lee to leave his farm, but while it was appreciated, it was also unnecessary.
It was time to plant the seeds, after all.
So Lee left his little House just as the light of the sun began rising. Normally, Lee didn't get to work so early, but the huge crack in the Outer Wall started the sunrise earlier, so Lee took advantage of it. He pulled The Cart out of The Shed. He had checked the wheels a few days ago and all was well. As Lee began hauling the sacks of seeds out of The New Shed and stacking them into the cart, flashes and tiny bursts of flames began lighting up around the crack in the Wall. It had been like that every day this week. People fighting a war, no doubt. No one ever said, 'war,' but Lee lived within sight of the Outer Wall. There was a war. Or wars. Could be either, really. He didn't keep track, these days.
The sunlight shined through the crack, and Lee got to work.
The air heated, but not too much. That was good. I meant that the soil was soft, but not warm. Hours went by, and Lee dug his shallow holes and dropped his seeds. The flashes and fires continued over by the crack in the Outer Wall, but now they were obscured by both the daylight and huge clouds of dust. Those clouds went hither and wither across the horizon, and even seemed to get closer to Lee's land at one point, but he paid it no mind. Wars come and go, but the people of Ba Sing Se had to eat and so the seeds had to be planted.
Lee was getting ready to take a break when he heard the wailing. He turned to find a stocky man in a topknot stumbling across the farmland.
He wore armor: black, red, gold armor.
He also walked like a drunk, carrying the flopping body of another armored man, this one young beneath the smears of dirt and bloody on his face. "My son," the intruder wailed with tears streaming out of glassy eyes. "They killed my son!"
Lee watched as the intruder approached.
"He's dead! Dead! They killed him! I brought my boy to this war and now's dead!" His voice bellowed, snot ran down his face, and his heavy footsteps kicked up the dirt as he meandered over to Lee. "They killed my son!"
The intruder fell to his knees, but still kept hold of the body in his arms and raised it above the dirt.
Lee finally walked over and spoke for the first time in two days. "I's sorry. 'S hard to lose a son."
The intruder continued to sob. Lee went over to The Cart, to the burlap bags of seeds within, and grabbed the only open sack. He spilled the seeds out onto the ground and brought the empty bag over to the intruder, to lay it out flat on the dirt. "Put 'im down 'ere."
The intruder's tears didn't stop, but he did quiet as he laid the body on the bag. The man looked forlornly down at the stilled body, and Lee made a decision. "You takin' y'boy back?"
The intruder sighed. "I cannot get him past the Outer Wall. We've been driven back."
Lee didn't even wonder who 'we' was. "I can take 'im to the cemetery. 's over the hill. We don't plant there." He paused, and then added, "I buried m'boy there. He was a solja on the Wall. 's a nice cemetery. Gots trees."
The intruder's eyes went wide, and he looked up at Farmer Lee as though seeing him for the first time. He shifted in the dirt and went down into a full kowtow at Lee's feet, pressing his forehead into the loose soil. "You have my eternal gratitude. I swear to you, I will end the siege! No more sons are lost in Ba Sing Se. I swear I make this happen."
Farmer Lee shrugged. "M'kay."
The intruder got up at that point and began making his way back off Lee's land. Lee waited until the armored figure was gone, then lifted the body of the youngster over to The Cart. It took some effort; the body was quite heavy in its armor, but Lee had spent all his years working the land, and the strength had not left his limbs yet. Then he began dragging The Cart along the way to the cemetery. He had other planting to do, now.
He could lay the seeds tomorrow.
END
