Primmy's Garden

Primmy sat in a large chair on her front porch. She was comfortably propped up in the big chair surrounded by pillows. Her cane sat close by her side. She waved as her friends ran by. They were pulling each other in a red wagon, and they waved back as they raced along.
Primmy had been born with only three paws, so she couldn’t run and play with the other kitts. But she didn’t mind, for she still had many things to finish in her garden. After the group went by she sighed and stood up slowly. Then she hobbled down the ramp that her Pawpa had made for her, and knelt down in her garden. She planted some lovely nasturtiums, and she planted several lily bulbs. It was hot work, and Primmy grew tired easily. She didn’t have much energy these days, but she knew she had to finish the garden. She hobbled back to her chair where she sat down exhaustedly and fell asleep.
And so the summer went. Each morning Primmy would work for a while in her garden. And each morning her friends would race by playing some game. Sometimes her winky Bastien would come and sit with her, and sometimes Mim would visit too. But the others seemed much too busy to stop now that summer was here.
One day the group came slowly walking down the sidewalk. And in the middle of the group was her friend Sharzaun, walking on crutches. She had fallen off her horse and broken her paw. She came slowly up and sat on the porch with Primmy. The next few weeks were wonderful. Shazon came and stayed every day. On some days they would plant a few plants, but mostly they just sat and talked, played games, or made paper dolls.
Then one day Shazon didn’t come. In fact Primmy didn’t see her the whole week. The next time she saw Shazon, she was racing along again with her friends. Her paw had healed, and she no longer needed the crutches. Shazon waved gaily as she ran by, but Primmy was too tired to wave back. These days she seemed to have less and less energy.
The next day Shazon and the others came by again. But this time they didn’t race by. They stopped, and Primmy noticed they were pulling a wagon filled with plants.
Shazon raced up with her usual energy and enthusiasm. “We came to help you finish your garden,” she told Primmy.
Primmy smiled at her friends. Suddenly all the cats were kneeling in the garden planting flowers. There were nasturtiums, and roses, and primroses, and gillyflowers. There were bluebells, and daffodils and even the rare Mimeenah flower. Finally the garden was done, and it looked so beautiful.
The rest of the summer went by quickly. Each day Shazon and the others stopped by to see Primmy, and to help her water the garden. Each day Primmy grew weaker, but she was always happy to see her friends. And she was especially happy that the garden was finished. She knew her work here was done.
Fall came, and the other kitts went back to school, but Primmy was too sick this year to go. She sat in the window and looked out on her lovely garden, and thought of the happy times she had had. The sun was warm, and a few flowers were still in bloom.
Primmy smiled softly and closed her eyes.