Chapter one
The only reason I come back here is for my gran. To help her out with the up keep on the property that she refuses to leave for a reason I haven't been told, and also to see her. Gran is the only family I have left, we literally only have each other. Her husband, my granddad, died from cancer when I was about five so I didn't know him that well. When gran passes I will have no reason to come back here, which is sad because I have come to like this small town, to a certain extent. Everyone knows everyone and everything but I do love the sense of community and family. I’ve been raised by only my gran since I was nine made me yearn for a big family. Sure I had friends growing up but only one best friend. Se wanted to get out of this small town though. She is the type of girl that gets bored easily. Se gets bored with jobs, long term relationships...you name it, anything that doesn't give her a rush she won't like. There is always at least one of those people in small towns, especially this country town. Abby just happens to be five of those people in one neat package.
Country markets, fates, fundraisers, non-designer name clothing stores, horse riding lessons, crazy town meetings, seasonal festivals. These are all the things I love about this town, and all the reason Abby left.
We used to write to each other but it got annoying and expensive because she is attending an acting school in America and as university students neither of us had much money to spare. To be honest we drifted apart and are no longer friends but two people that used to know each other.
Right now it is probably over 30 degrees. When I past the temperature gage just after noon it read 30 and it has gotten hotter since then. I left gran inside reading and under a fan. She joined a reading club years ago and reads like crazy, though I am sure they use it as an excuse to get together to gossip and drink wine. Gran is relatively healthy but she isn't 50 anymore and I know she forgets that sometimes. She still tries to ride the horses even with her bad back. Sometimes when it's not too hot I will see her out in the paddock talking to Arron, granddads horse. Arron is getting really old too and he is unrideable. I think gran knows he will have to be put down because of his bad legs but she keeps telling me, 'Arron is strong just like your grandfather. He will pull through this'. I know she is really saying that Arron can't die because he is all she has left of granddad. I feel really bad for her. Her soul mate has passed and has taken a part of her with him. I'd want to die first. When I get married, and I plan too, I will demand to die first. Not because I am bossy and selfish by nature just because I don't think I am strong enough to go through that burning that death leaves behind, not again.
I am tending to gran's gardens. I have watered and clipped and de-weeded the front garden, the flower garden with the roses and daisies and some other flower; a name I can never remember. The vegetable patch is out the back of the house. It is pretty impressive. There is a chicken wire roof and fence that is held up with the original small wooden fence that is very cute. The veggie patch is the size of a standard bedroom. There are watermelons in one corner, lettuces, tomatoes, corn, pumpkins in another corner, strawberries... You name it, and depending on the season there is a pretty good chance it is growing in the veggie patch. I have almost finished picking the oranges from the trees and I am already completely soaked through with sweat. Gross. It is unbearably hot but I would rather do this than have gran do it and risk getting hurt. She pays two young guys to do throughout the year what I do every Christmas break. Gran even makes them meals along with paying them. They aren’t even that good.
"Arielle." I hear gran call my name. I straighten up and face towards the house. The sun shines into my eyes so I cover my eyes with my hand. My arm instantly hurts so I drop it and head up to the house. There is something I should probably mention, my body isn't made for labour. I have next to no muscle definition and my skin is fair. I have been lifting, pulling, pushing and hurling things on this farm for as long as I can remember and I have yet to gain muscle mass, it makes it hard to get things done but I press on anyway. It takes me twice as long to do everything but other than town activities there isn't much to do around here, so I don’t mind. Hard work may not be in my muscles but it is in my blood.
