Life on a farm- ON HOLD

Chapter 1- A typical Afternoon

The sun's rays stung my skin. I brushed the sweat off my brow with my bare arm. Exactly six months from now was the harvest festival. Bill had all of us working hard. Sometimes, too hard. He even had some of us working from dawn until dusk. And 'some of us' meant me. Lately he had complained that I had been indolent. Bill had introduced a new rule to me. The rule was: that I could only have a ten minute rest, to make up for my lack of effort. Even though it was a rule, it did not apply to anyone but me. Everyone else was allowed to relax for at least thirty minutes.

I may seem that I complain a lot, but the truth is no matter what people say about me, I do not return the insult. Complaining is something that I have not done to anyone, including Bill. The people in this town think that I am ungrateful, and 'different' to all  of the other women. Those people believed that all women are fragile and weak. All the ones that I have met, believe the very same thing. According to them, I possess talent that could be used tending to wounded soldiers. In their eyes it is wrong that I do a man's job.

One of the things that kept me going was wanting to see brother. My brother was a kind man, who always looked out for me, but he still refused to believe in me. He himself had seen a battlefield many times before, yet he still wanted me to endure the pain of seeing countless men die everyday. Despite the fact that he did, he was a righteous man who fought for his country. Well, I didn't tell him or Bill how I felt, or anyone else.

Loose fawn hairs blew around my unkempt braid. A cool breeze blew into my face, instantly refreshing me. I picked the potato, brushing off the dirt. As I stood up I winced in pain. My back ached. Potato picking from dawn until noon was nothing more than a daily exercise. Still holding the potato, I realised that it's skin was golden, just like the sun. My gaze wondered over to the, now filled sack that sat on the ground next to me.

A smile formed on my dirt stained face. My last sack was full to the brim. With it being my twenty seventh sack, I had wished ten sacks ago that I had a wheelbarrow.  Believe me when I say that I had counted the number of times that I had to walk back and forth between the stables and this enormous potato field with numb arms. But with Bill being Bill, he had prevented me from having one. In my whole time of being on that farm, Bill had never stopped to watch me, he would only listen to what other people had to say. Their comments were hardly ever pleasant.

After I dusted down my overalls, I swung the sack onto my back. I didn't mind the pressure from it. What I focused on was not my painful back, but the fact that this sack contained the last bundle of crops that I would work with that day, or so I thought... 

"Jones!"

In the distance, I could just make out a figure waving their arms at me, furiously. As soon as the receding grey hair and stubble came into view, a heavy sigh escaped my lungs. The man quickly appeared in front of me.

"Why on earth are you still here helping Colin while the people that you are meant to be helping are Rigger and Fletcher, they started an hour ago because they got sick of waiting!"

"Actually Bill, Colin went home," I tried not to look him in the eye, but that seemed impossible.

He glared at me, flaring his nostrils like an angry bull, "Why?"

"His wife went into labour this morning"

"That is a good reason, but that doesn't explain why wasn't I told about this Jones!" Bill barked

"He was in a hurry and you were...busy" I shifted nervously

"Then why didn't you come to tell me?"

I was busy, that is what I wanted to say, but no words came out. Sick of waiting, Bill started to storm off until he turned around to say, "I was going to ask Colin, but it looks like you're going to have to muck out the stables instead"

"Rob's free, why can't he do it?"

"Because he took the cart  into town over an hour ago, and don't dare to question me when I tell you to do something!"

"But I-" I tried to protest

"The only 'but' you have is a lazy one,  get over to the wheat field once you've finished up here, do I make myself clear?" 

"Yes."

He walked away. If I wanted to live here, then I would have no choice other than to listen to him. After all there was so much work to get done; in so little time. There weren't many of us, so we were constantly working.

Slowly, I walked out of the potato field. On my to the stables I passed the main barn, which was where the cows were kept. When they mooed, I couldn't help but laugh. At least someone was happy to see me. Gently, I put the sack down. After opening the barn door I saw no cows.  The moos must have came from the field behind the barn.

As I reached the last empty stall, I heard a feminine  voice.

"Please, stay still!"

I turned the corner to see Layla backing away from a stressed cow and an empty bucket  rolling across the floor. Layla's face lit up as she saw me.

"Amelia, thank goodness! Help me!"

With my hands up I slowly walked in front of the cow, making sure I didn't startle her.

"Whoa, steady," I stroked her side and started to hum. After a few moments she began to calm down.

"You have a gift."

"I don't think so, all you have to do is remain calm and quiet yourself and give them a bit of space, isn't that right?" I whispered into the cow's ear "Anyway what happened?"

Layla looked down at the bucket, "I was trying to milk her and she knocked the bucket over"

"Maybe it's best if you leave her in her stall for now, and put her out into the field once the others are in, to stop her from getting even more stressed"

Layla smiled, "I will, oh don't forget, suppers early tonight!"

"Actually, you might have to do the same as last night and save me some leftovers"

"Honestly Amelia, when your brother comes home and finds out how much you haven't been eating-"

"He won't find out, besides Bill wants me on horse duty tonight so that's why I'll be late."

Before Layla could say anything else, I ran to my sack and made my way to the stables...