Free Revolution Baby by Alison Anderson, Joanna Gruda Page B

shake her very hard. But I went on sitting there, not saying a thing, waiting for something to make this woman disappear from my sight. Since she didn’t know what else to say, Lena soon decided that it was time for her to leave. She gave me a kiss—how annoying—and smiled at me—how annoying—and gave me a hug—all right, is that it now?—and turned around and left.
    I was furious. I went out into the park and ran to hide in my secret refuge. On my way I gave a kick to a huge rock. Ouch! The pain had a calming effect on my mind. I curled up in a ball and spent a long time mulling over all the reasons I had to be angry with Lena, and there were plenty of them. “I can never trust her. You can’t count on her, she doesn’t do anything I ask her to do, but she always says, ‘
Oui
,
oui
,’ because she doesn’t even have the balls to say, ‘You know, I don’t give a damn about your garden thing,’ which is the truth, because she doesn’t give a damn about anything concerning me. Well, she won’t get away with it, just because she’s too stupid to remember a little teeny tiny favor doesn’t mean I can’t still have the most beautiful garden in the contest.” I had to find a solution, and fast, because the planting period had already begun.
    And suddenly the solution came to me, in all its splendor, its logic, and its simplicity.
    Â 
    The very next morning, straight after breakfast, I went down to the bottom of the garden, behind the pond, where the tall shrubbery concealed a stone wall. Clinging with all my strength with my little fingers to the few protruding stones, I hoisted myself to the top of the wall. Without even looking behind me, I jumped down to the other side, landing on an uncultivated plot of land between two houses with their gardens nicely arranged. No need to look any further on my first sortie. I headed to the right, keeping my eyes on the little white house half hidden by tall trees. This was perfect. I blended in with the shade of the trees, and no one could see me.
    It became trickier when I got to the garden, which was located right out in the sunlight. I observed it from a distance, and gave some thought to what might interest me. As I hadn’t taken any tools, I would have to choose something I could dig up with my hands. Then I thought, I know, I’ve got it: irises. I recognized their long flat leaves in a shadier part of the garden. I glanced once again at the house, took a deep breath and rushed forward, practically crawling, as if I were about to ambush someone. First of all I tried to dig up some big iris plants, but the soil where they were planted was hard and compact, and I couldn’t get my fingers under the bulbs. I looked all around: in an airier corner of the garden that seemed to have been recently planted, I saw some little irises with very pale leaves, and crept toward them. This time, it worked! I dug up three or four at first and was getting ready to leave, then changed my mind, reasoning that it would be better to make the best use of the risk I was taking. I chose four more, which didn’t go with the rest of that garden anyway . . . and while I was at it, why not an additional three, and I buried them deep in my pockets.
    Just as I was about to head back, I heard a door slam. Darn! I tried to disappear behind a little bush. I could hear a little girl talking. She seemed to be having a long conversation . . . The voice was coming closer, and before long I could make out what she was saying. “And if you disobey me one more time, you will stay in a drawer all summer long. Do you understand, Mathilde? In the meantime, I am taking you out to the garden to be punished.” I could hear the stifled sound of an object falling into the grass. “I’ll come back later to see if you have calmed down.” I waited a little bit longer. The door slammed again. I got up