{"id":138,"date":"2015-06-28T04:14:31","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T04:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/abealfreader1\/?post_type=chapter&p=138"},"modified":"2022-08-10T23:37:11","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T23:37:11","slug":"vals-garden","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/abealfreader1\/chapter\/vals-garden\/","title":{"raw":"Val's Garden","rendered":"Val’s Garden"},"content":{"raw":"

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\r\nhttps:\/\/media.bccampus.ca\/id\/0_7d4pe882?width=608&height=70&playerId=23449753\r\n\r\n\"A\r\n

I am new to the city. I do not know anyone.\u00a0But an old woman lives next door. Her name is Val. She gives me a big box of vegetables.<\/p>\r\n\"An\r\n

She grows them in a garden by the sidewalk. There are carrots, tomatoes, beans, and peas. They are the best vegetables I ever ate. Val lives alone, too. But she seems happy in her garden. She loves those plants. Sometimes, I can hear her talking to them. Maybe that is why they grow so big.<\/p>\r\n\"A\r\n

One day, I stop seeing Val in the garden. I see people take many boxes from her home.\u00a0Weeds grow in her garden. The dirt is dry. The plants look sad. Val must have passed on.<\/p>\r\n\"A\r\n

So I pull the weeds. I water the garden. I even talk to the plants.<\/p>\r\n\"A\r\n

Then a family moves next door. They are new to the city. They do not know anyone.\u00a0And I give them a big box of vegetables from Val\u2019s garden.<\/p>","rendered":"

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\n