You’re not supposed to plant apples from seed, but John didn’t care if he never got apples. He just wanted the pleasure of growing something. He was ecstatic when it sprouted. Then he was suddenly called away on a work trip. Would it die from a week of neglect? In between meetings, John refreshed the local weather, his mind conjuring graphic images of withered, rotting plants from his childhood. When the rideshare dropped him home, he ran to the garden. It wasn’t a sprout anymore. A giant apple, about the width of a tire, bulged halfway out of the soil.
Inspired by Day 11 of AWC's June Story Seeds: Imagine a character who has planted a seed in their garden but, now that it’s growing, it’s not what they expected at all.