The Girl Who Replanted Her Father’s Dream

Chapter 1: The Dusty Rooftop

Ayesha was 19 when the pandemic ended.

The city of Lahore was awake again — but something still felt asleep inside her.

She had just lost her father to a silent heart attack three months earlier. He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t old. He just… didn’t wake up.

He was a science teacher by day and a gardener by heart. Every evening, he would water pots on their rooftop — mint, tulsi, tomatoes, lemon, and gulab.

But now those pots were dry. Dusty. Cracked.

Just like her heart.

Chapter 2: A Note in the Soil

One evening, Ayesha went to the roof after weeks.

The plants were dead.

But near the largest broken pot, she saw something unusual — a paper wrapped in plastic, buried just beneath the dry soil.

It was a note.

“Beta, if you’re reading this, I’m probably not around anymore. But if you ever feel lost… plant something. Even one seed. Life will show you the way back.”

She clutched the note and sat there — not crying. Just breathing. Like her father taught her when she was little:

“When life breaks you, plant.”

Chapter 3: One Seed

Ayesha didn’t have any gardening tools. Or gloves. Or even soil.

But she had one thing: will.

That weekend, she bought a small packet of methi seeds from a roadside vendor. Just Rs. 30.

She removed the dead plants gently, poured fresh mitti into the biggest pot, and pressed the seeds in — carefully, like they were children.

And then, she watered them.

Not just with water… but with intention.

Chapter 4: Rain and Memory

For the next few days, she watered the pot every morning before class.

Her friends laughed.

“Tum bhi ab garden wali aunty ban gayi?”

She didn’t respond.

One day it rained.

She ran to the rooftop — to protect her seeds.

But instead, she found them… thriving. Tiny green leaves peeking out of soil like they were smiling.

For the first time in months, Ayesha smiled too.

“Appa, I think you’re still teaching me.”

Chapter 5: Rooftop Revolution

Encouraged, she expanded.

Bought more pots.

Started using compost from kitchen waste.

Learned tricks from YouTube channels: “Home Gardening for Beginners”, “Rooftop Farming Pakistan”.

Within 3 months, her roof had:

Coriander

Tomatoes

Lemongrass

Chillies

Spinach

Two sunflowers (just for fun)

But something else began to grow too — visitors.

Neighbors started noticing.

“Beta, can you teach my daughter too?”

“Where did you get these planters?”

“Can I buy spinach from you?”

She didn’t know she was starting a movement.

Chapter 6: From Roof to Hearts

She created a WhatsApp group:

“Green Rooftop Sisters”

Then an Instagram page:

@GrowWithAyesha

She posted time-lapse reels of her tomatoes growing. Her following exploded.

Comments flooded in:

“You gave me hope.”

“I started gardening because of your dad’s quote.”

“You helped me through depression.”

She wasn’t just planting anymore — she was healing.

Chapter 7: A News Story

One day, a journalist from a local paper messaged her.

“We want to do a feature on your rooftop garden.”

She was nervous. But she said yes.

The article was titled:

📰 “The Girl Who Replanted Her Father’s Dream”

It got shared over 10,000 times.

That night, she sat on her rooftop alone, looking at the small lemon tree she had planted on her dad’s death anniversary.

It had its first tiny lemon.

“Appa, we did it.”

Chapter 8: Healing the City

After that, she started free weekend classes on her roof.

5 girls came the first week.

12 the next.

Then 30.

She showed them how to grow from trash, how to reuse water, how to compost banana peels, and most importantly — how to start small.

One of the girls said:

“I used to hate myself. But growing things makes me feel… alive.”

Another brought her mother next time.

The rooftop was no longer quiet. It was filled with laughter, green, and growth.

Final Chapter: The Message

On the 1st anniversary of her father’s death, Ayesha hosted a “Plant and Pray” event.

People brought seeds, wrote messages for lost loved ones, and planted them together.

When it ended, she gave each guest a small paper bag with this printed message:

“One seed. One life. One change. When the world is too heavy — plant something.”

— Inspired by Abbu

That night, she didn’t cry.

She didn’t feel broken.

She felt… rooted.

🌿 Closing Message:

You don’t have to change the world.

Just change one rooftop.

One seed.

One heart.

Like Ayesha.

Because hope grows silently. Just like methi.