“These Worry Seeds… They really are something special.”
Minami squatted down, gazing at the plant with its curly green-blue leaves. She thought back on everything that had happened. Eating these leaves had indeed made her worry about things she hadn’t given a thought to before. But it wasn’t as if they’d made anything new happen in her life. It was more like she’d gotten a fresh perspective on things—on her studies, on school, on her family. She’d become more aware of how serious those situations were, which in turn was what made her worry.
“‘Each Worry Leaf consumed will lead to a new worry in your life.’ I guess this is what that meant.”
Satisfied with that explanation, she got to her feet and looked up at the sky. She felt so fulfilled, so accomplished. This was a feeling she’d never have been able to experience before.
“Even someone like me can worry about things. And I can figure out ways to fix them, too!”
The thought made her happy and proud of herself.
“Then again…I guess it’s only thanks to the leaves that I was able to solve my worries so easily.”
Minami’s eyes wandered back down to the plant pot. All the worries that had come from eating the leaves had been resolved almost right away. Quick and easy solutions had pretty much fallen into her lap. These leaves were grown from Mild seeds, after all.
What was it the packet had said? “Mild seeds will produce worries that are easy to fix.”
“Right… Normally, it’d be hard for someone who never studied to boost their test scores up in just a week. And there was no guarantee standing up to my bullies would get them to stop. I might have just annoyed them and made everything worse.”
Then there was the matter of her parents. Maybe she hadn’t fixed their relationship at all. Maybe the two of them had already wanted to reconcile deep down, and she’d just given them an opportunity to do it.
“Well, anyway, I think I’ve eaten enough of these leaves.”
They’d already done more than enough to help her to grow as a person. The difference between the version of her that never worried and the one that did was amazing, really. It was the kind of progress that went beyond regular growth. It was more like evolution.
“Now that I’ve experienced worries for myself, it’s actually kind of scary to think about how I lived before.”
But she knew better now; that was what was important. And she’d be fine without the seeds’ help from now on. Minami would find her own worries, and even if they weren’t easy to resolve, she wouldn’t just shrug everything off like she used to.
“Oh…”
She’d looked up from the plant again and noticed a couple of butterflies nearby. One was some kind of swallowtail, the type she’d seen around here before. The other was unusual; it had pink-and-black wings.
“That looks like the one I followed that day I found the Worry Seeds…”
They were both fluttering around the garden, the strange butterfly in front, as if it was leading the swallowtail somewhere. Maybe butterflies could be friends even if they were different types. That was a nice thought.
Everything seemed to be right with the world. Minami stood there a while, feeling the sun on her face and taking in the rose-scented breeze that drifted all around her.
In time, the plant that sprouted from the Worry Seeds grew flowers, and those flowers eventually wilted. The leaves that Minami hadn’t eaten also disappeared at some point.
But her story didn’t end there.