His hand cracked the dusty crust of the earth revealing only much more of the same arid soil. Driving his hand deeper he scooped out a few hand-fulls before he struck what he was searching for. The dirt which clung to his hand was dark and damp. It was located far enough down that the entire layer of dust covering the property would have to be removed just to get at the hopefully sustainable soil. This task would take plenty of time considering the working conditions. The Sun was not playing favourites as of late. It would thrust it's heat on the land throughout the day baking away the freshly exposed soil. By the end of the second day he would have to go back and re-dig his previous work. Working mid-day was not worth the risk of heat stroke. leaving him with dusk and dawn as his only workable time frames. With this new obstacle in mind he developed a new working pattern which involved removing all but a small layer of the dust. This layer could remain there, acting as a protective barrier until he was ready to sow the new seeds. The task now seemed to move along quite swiftly with his improved method. Not having to remove all of the dry dirt allowed for him to do a more broad area at one time. Soon he had small piles of dirt lining his property. It seemed more as though he were going to war then preparing to bring forth new life.
Now he could begin the planting process. Standing on one end of his field with his heel stiff and plunged into the earth he began to drag his leg as he walked to the other side. He would pause on occasion to measure his progress and be sure he was maintaining a relatively straight line. Confident in his ability to achieve full field coverage by nightfall, he worked without rest the entire morning. By noon he had no choice but to surrender under the Sun and wait for its departure. He looked over his work and decided he would use this rest time to sow his new seeds where ever he had already prepared the land. With a handful of seeds he began to walk slowly along the freshly carved lines. Once he reached the end he would walk back up the line using the side of his foot to cover the seed with dirt. Of course he could only carry so many seeds at one time, so he would have to make the occasional trip over to the seed pile for refilling. He had hardly noticed that the sun had begun to retreat behind the horizon as finished planting the first batch. Without a moment to rest he started anew where he had previously left off. Heel firmly in the dirt and dragging towards destiny. There was far less of the field remaining so he knew for certain that all the seeds would be at rest in the ground by nightfall.
As the Sun finally lost it's grasp and darkness drenched the land he was bent over brushing the last of the seeds into his palm. Without hesitation he made his way to the last row and began the final phase. Somehow when he reached the very end of this last row he had only one seed left to sow. He stood motionless in the soft light of tonights moon and wondered just how possible it is that he would be left with an exact number of seeds. Not one less. Not one more. It was clearly out of his hands much like the last seed which was now falling into it's final resting spot. The end of it's life as a seed and the beginning of it's life as a plant.
He stood over-looking his new garden even though there was nothing to see. He knew there was still more work to be done. He would have to water and tend to this land without fail. It was a part of him and he a part of it.
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