Azula received a pamphlet slid under her door. At first, she thought it was a religious pamphlet like the ones that Jehovah witness would give out, but upon further inspection, she discovered it wasn’t. It looked rather like an informational brochure, like the ones you find at the doctor's office. The pamphlet had a huge heading displayed in bold “The key to survival.” Azula read the pamphlet hoping to get some sort of motivation to pursue life.
These past few days Azula felt like she had no purpose in life and she was just existing,not living. No one cared about her, her dogs had left her and her family was dead. As she read the pamphlet a particular quote stuck out “Figure out your place in the universe, find what makes you happy and what helps others, and do it.”
As Azula tried to fall asleep that night, she couldn’t get that quote out of her head. Maybe what she needed was to give back to her community. Maybe then she could be happy and finally relieve her guilt over her family’s deaths.
The next day Azula joined Shawn to plant trees and flowers all over the city as part of the reconstructing foxberry program.
“Hi, Azula! ,“ Shawn said excitedly, as she walked up.
“Hey” Azula responded in a quiet voice.
“Join me!” Shawn said with a smile on his faces. Together Azula and Shawn planted thirty sunflower seeds in the next several hours. The repetitive task was calming. She enjoyed every bit of the outdoors, from the sounds of the birds chirping to the sounds of the leaf rustling from the wind. Azula was startled when a puppy jumped onto her lap, interrupting her concentration. The dog licked her mouth and barked eagerly. Azula laughed, and rubbed its belly.
“Oh, I am sorry, “ an old lady said as she pulled the leash back. Azula waved goodbye at the puppy as it was dragged away.
“I haven’t seen you smile or laugh like that since your dogs disappeared,” Shawn said.
Azula looked at Shawn with a pleasant smile and continued gardening.
“I really think you should work at the animal shelter,” Shawn said.
“I’ll think about it” Azula responded.
As Azula walked back to her apartment she pondered Shawn’s suggestion. The next morning, Azula got up bright and early and went to the animal shelter to fill out a job application. The sight of the puppies and cats made Azula smile. Azula knew it was just the thing that would make her happy.
