Seeds of Hope
The burning sun was scorching down on Maria, who was doing her best to wipe away sweat from her forehead. Soiled hands clutched with dirt signaled hours of working the plot. She looked over at Ana, her young daughter, sitting nearby, sorting minute tomatoes that had just been picked. This was a poor harvest this year, but one full of meaning-an earned prize won through survival and determination. Life had always been pretty tough in their little village, but it had only gotten worse with time in the past few years. Cropped plants died from multiple occasions rather than growing this season, and food became day by day scarce. Hunger is no longer a visitor; instead, it became the slouching shadow that would not go away. Maria almost lost hope, seeing all her neighbors and relatives carry out the same common battle. She saw it even in Ana's eyes: that mute longing for a life where food was never a question. One day, though, the workers came to the village, offering seeds a...