BibbleSmiley(BS)

Double Down Dowry

Benjamin knew how to do things that ordinary kids would dismiss as plain or mundane. He could nail a shoe to a horse's high heel hoof, inverted omega becoming alpha. It hurt the animal far less to be impaled by a steel spike than to travel hundreds of miles without it. He knew how to make apple cider and after the third time through the grinder it became pulpy which was better for orange juice. He was able to shear sheep and patch and count how many jumped over the gate to guess the net weight. Who wouldn't want to do that job? He was living the dream. Adam Wingfeild could afford to pay migrant workers to do his bidding but there was no pride in that. Besides, why would he spend money on something that Ben could do for free? What was the point of having children if you couldn't order them around? Both Santa and God have a big white beard. They've never been spotted together. By the way his reindeer are there to steer the Slaybor Day. Bound by honor torn by wrath.

Benjamin hammered away at the same tedious time absorbing tasks. Peaches have always been big in the south, especially with sweet cream. They grew in a place known to the locals as the back forty. From time to time it never seemed to fail that a transient would infiltrate the perimeter of the Wingfield farm, hug around the circumference of a peach tree and shimmy their way up the trunk to a low hanging branch. They proceeded to dine with the insects (conquering sandworms must stop worrying about parasites) on the blood of the Earth. The branch dweller would overstay their welcome having everything they needed in that crooked nook. Benjamin now bore witness to one of these loitering free loaders sucking the resources out of his natural human habitat which soon became a barren wasteland.

Benjamin was careful not to utter a peep as the drifter might recognize his name in the lingo that is here being recalled. This status peep head was dubbed upon it, a sure sign of lacking reputable character. When these parents' vagabonds deserted it having found a more sustainable environment they spread out and multiplied. Benjamin didn't want to startle it in fear that it would respond with unwanted hostility. Even still it's uncommon to spot such a rare specimen outside of captivity and was kept there for good reasons. Benjamin had to appreciate the terrific beauty for what it was. He had encountered spectacular luck running into it and proceeded to observe with caution. He wanted to take every advantage that this rare opportunity presented itself with.

Drawing closer to this homeless man's temporary lodging he fired his rifle so that he might pay for its accommodations with slow moving blood. He woke in surprise, like a veteran keeping a gun under the pillow with paranoid delusions of the Vietnam War never having ended. He fell out of the tree loudly cursing having gone to sleep in a drunken stupor and awakened with a splitting headache. Benjamin peeled back the corner of his lip with the barrel of his firearm, holographic sight with laser beam if it's red you're dead. "You got a purty mouth boy. I don't have to fire this but I got a happy trigger finger. What brings you over here yonder 'round the back forty? Might as well confess cause I can tell if you're lying, I know reverse psychology. Mamma and pops my guardian angels says that I have good intuition."

As long as the man was just laying there he didn't pose any clear and present danger. "I wasn't aware that I had wandered onto someone else's property. It's so big I couldn't firmly establish place, but the real question is when are we?'' The man said and Ben quickly retorted, correcting him on his shortcomings. "This spread belongs to Pappy Wingfield. You are trespassing and have no right to be breathing this here oxygen. By the fullest extent of the law I'm legally allowed to shoot you. You think peach trees grow in columns like you see 'em all natural like this in the wilderness?" The man turned his head to verify what Benjamin said was true. The clad iron was an extension on Ben's arm and it knocked against a few teeth. "Don't birds pass seeds as they pass overhead and that could account for the line from point A to point B?" "Peaches have pits and you don't want one lodged in you. Besides, birds fly in a V shaped pattern." Ben said easily. He was pleased with himself for having given the correct information. "Dragon? You know their skeletons are lighter so they decompose." "Now you're just asking for it."