VICTORIA, B.C. — We find our heroes—a trio of octogenarians and their two caregivers—in the midst of a quest. “We’re going for a walk in the wind,” Sue says. “To look for blackberries.” Their journey, which stretches more than one whole back-alley block, and features bright flowers blooming in resilient gardens growing in the cracks along chain-link fences, is fuelled by fun. “We come here to have fun and be silly,” Sue says, smiling while the seniors nod in agreement. “There’s lots of laughter.” Sue tells a lot of bad jokes that always make the bunch feel better. They also stop to pick the flowers they find and build bouquets. But like all great adventures, our explorers face an unexpected detour along the way. “One of the trees over here is a wish tree,” Aria says, pointing out how the branches have hand-written notes tied to them. While Aria directs them to the tree blooming with others wishes, our heroes are inspired to reflect on their own. Leigh, Vic, and David’s wishes range from easing what physically ails them, to having more days ahead of them than behind. But they also wish for you to realize—far sooner than they did—what life is all about. “I think it’s to make the most that you can of every moment,” Leigh says. The others say you should spend as many of those moments as you can with the ones you love the most. “And be kind as often as you can,” Leigh adds with a smile. And when life doesn’t unfold the way you’d hoped, like when your quest for blackberries leads you to a bush filled with only unripe red ones… “Be cheerful and happy,” Leigh says. “Because there’s no point in being otherwise.” Which is why—seeing as they’ve travelled so far—they summon the courage to bite into of those red berries anyway. “Oooh! Sour!” Aria’s face twists. “Very, very sour!” Sue’s mouth puckers. “Crunchy!” Leigh says with a laugh. And then all our intrepid travellers start laughing a lot. A feeling that turns out to be far sweeter than the alternative. “It made us giggle,” Sue says. “Made us laugh,” Aria adds. “And that’s what life’s all about,” Sue says, smiling. And that’s how, after turning a seemingly fruitless quest into a fruitful one, our heroes embark back home victorious.
