My Neighbour's Grass - My first attempt at fiction story

Hi,

So i woke up this morning hung over from all of the weekend's activities. Like i mentioned earlier, i have couple of tit bits to share; however i find i am struggling with words this morning.  So, as a way of keeping up with the blog, (yes i have resolved to keep writing no matter what), i have decided to share my first ever fiction story, a story i drafted in all of 10 minutes or less.

This story has been shared with a couple of people before, so, if you happen to have read this story before, bear with me, i am just a proud Mama sharing my brain child with hopefully a larger audience.

So here goes................. MY NEIGHBOUR'S GRASS

My neighbour's grass is green.

Every time i pass by, i would strain my neck to get as much view of the lawn as i could. I would soak it all in, and make a mental picture of just how green and lush i need to make mine.

It's been 5 years and try as much as i have, it seems my grass has decided to fail me. I had gotten my local gardener to give it the magic work, i almost paid through my nose, but it just wouldn't be as lush as my neighbours'. Many a weekends, i would personally take time to pull weeds and prune it, but my grass simply wasn't on the same page as me. It was fine, but it wasn't as lush as my neighbours. In fact, my gardener was beginning to get at my wits end. When he is not demanding more money (like i am paying to fatten a herd of cattle), he blames it on the fact that my children spoil his efforts each time, they ride their bikes or run all over the lawn.

Shoo!! what is essence of a lawn, if my children can't play on it. I screamed so much at him the last time, and it's been weeks since he came by.

I knew my model lawn, but i couldn't bring myself to ask my neighbour what he does to make his that way. Maybe it was pride, or not wanting to accept that i failed at maintaining a lush lawn, or the fact that i just wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do.

I suffered in silence, and just enjoy when i watch Junior and his cousins play footballl,and my little girl, Joy riding her bike and playing catch on it.

As faith would have it, i had a chance to enter my neighbour's compound last week. Some electrical fault sparked off fire in the house, the fire alarm went off and we all rushed to their aid. The uniformed security guard let familiar faces in, and the water was put off while 'waiting' for the fire service. I was so happy to be one of the familiar faces (don't blame me).

The lady of the house was visibly shaken, as she held on to the small infant who was wailing because her breastfeeding session was abruptly stopped. In the midst of the chaos, i caught sight of the older children all huddled up close to the nanny, who was too busy paying them no attentions. I offered to help, i took their hands and walked towards the lawn, but as we drew close, they pulled back. Perplexed, i asked what the problem was, and in robot-like fashion, they replied that they were not allowed to go near the lawn. I told them, it's okay, today is not a school day, but they stood still and would not move an inch. Before i could utter another word, the nanny rudely snatched their hands saying their dad will beat them if they get on the lawn.

With a mixture of shock and embarrassment, i apologised and made to bid farewell. My neighbor more relaxed handed over the sleepy infant to the nanny, and came over to thank everyone for their help. She touched me softly, and apologised for the nanny's behaviour. She showed me a patch on the lawn that appeared dug out. She said the children were responsible for that, and went on to say how expensive it was to maintain. In agreement, i tried to make a statement on how expensive it was, but i was caught off guard when i heard the figures involved, It was few thousands short of my monthly salary. I bit my tongue and could only smile and nod my head.

I took one final look at the lawn, i saw it wasn't as lush as i pictured. The green suddenly wasn't as green, and then i saw a patch or two of sand. My neighbour's perfect grass wasn't as perfect.

As i said bye to her, i started to appreciate my not so perfect grass. The sacrifices it took to make their near perfect green grass, i could not afford.

The joys of watching my children play on my imperfect grass would do.

Feeding my grass my monthly earnings wouldn't do.

I have decided to nurture, and love my not quite lush green grass and remind myself that my neighbour's grass is green, just as the 'price' to keep it green is high.

........................................The End


I have another story i started last week, but time and mood hasn't been right. I want to give it more than 10 minutes of my time. So, fingers crossed, i'd be sharing another fiction story on here.

Did i mention that i find writing therapeutic? I think i did, and yes i feel better having put this down. Thanks for reading my story.