All Things Grow • 2017 rpg

This story takes as long to tell as a plant to grow.

Mother curls her hand — strong, calloused, beautiful — over yours. 
She has given you something — a sunflower seed. 
It presses against your palm. 
Her eyes shut.

Hold the seed, when you’re ready, plant it: 

Your mother is a babe. Pink and crying, feeding and growing.
Tell us about her home. What were her parents like?

When the first shoots arrive:

Your mother is a child. She is small and the world so big.
Tell us about her best adventures. How she was brave?

When the stalk grows strong, and leaves emerge:

Your mother is a teenager. Her territory grows. She is becoming more independent.
Tell us of her dreams. What is the future she hunts?

When the flower blooms:

Your mother atop the mountain she has climbed. 
She is all alone and all herself. She is smiling at the sun.
Tell us who your mother is. What limits has she shed?

Let the flower be. When you’re ready:

Cut it. 
Place it in a vase. That was your mother before you knew her. 
You don’t need the flower to know the rest of her story.

Grow.