Today I'll be reading Rafiki and the Architect by the Architect.
For Mia and for every child with a big idea and every grown
-up who remembers what it felt like to have one.
Mia had a big dream.
Right outside her window was an empty lot.
Dusty and brown and waiting.
Somebody should do something about that, she said.
She had ideas.
Sunflowers, tomatoes,
a bench under a tree, a place for the whole neighborhood.
She drew and drew until the pages ran out.
But where did you even begin?
That night, a small glowing robot appeared on her desk.
Hi, I'm Rafiki, he said softly.
I heard you have a big idea.
Mia blinked.
Can you just build it for me?
Rafiki smiled.
I can help you learn.
I can help you think.
But you are the one who builds.
Mia looked at her hands.
She nodded slowly.
Okay, then she said, let's start.
So they got to work.
Rafiki showed Mia what plants need.
Good soil, clean water, and sunshine.
What should we plant first, Mia asked.
What do you want to grow, Rafiki said.
Mia grinned.
She already knew.
Then the real work began.
Mia dug and dug and dug.
It was harder than she thought.
This is a lot of dirt, she said.
It is, said Rafiki.
Keep going.
And she did.
Days passed, then weeks.
Some seeds grew tall and green, but some didn't.
Mia's shoulders fell a little.
She had worked so hard.
This was not how it was supposed to go.
What's wrong with them, Mia asked.
Let's find out, said Rafiki.
They looked closely.
They asked questions.
They tried something new.
A little more water here, a little more shade there, a little more patience
everywhere.
And slowly,
slowly, then the neighbors came, then their neighbors,
then people who had never stopped before, carrying seeds and watering
cans and rakes.
What is this place, they asked.
It's our place, said Mia.
And then the garden grew.
Reds and yellows and greens as far as you could see.
Butterflies and bees and everything in between.
And the whole lot smelled like something new.
On harvest day, Mia filled basket after basket.
Her hands were muddy and her heart was full.
She gave them all away.
Not to sell, not to keep, just to share, because that was the whole
point.
A little girl tugged on Mia's sleeve.
Did you make all this?
Mia thought for a moment.
Rafiki helped me learn, the neighbors helped me build, and you helped
it grow by being here.
Then Mia planted new seeds for next year.
She looked up.
I used to wonder where to begin.
Now I know.
You begin with a dream.
And then you get to work.
What will you build?
As the sun went down over the garden, Rafiki began to hum.
It was the sound of something good that wasn't there before.
Thank you, said Mia.
No, said Rafiki softly.
Thank you.
So that was Rafiki and the Architect,
by the architect.
You can download it for free on RafikiAOS.com.