701

Scarecrow #1

Scarecrow

Moving to North Dakota, getting a new job, and working constantly was almost enough to distract me from my guilt. Almost. The winding roads and fields that stretched on for miles captivated most of my attention, but the long ride from Cincinnati had left me exhausted. The second I got the chance to, I packed my bags and left the busy city looking for somewhere I could settle and move on.

It was definitely a change in scenery, no more towering skyscrapers or everlasting traffic. It was just me, the road, and the occasional wildlife, unexpecting my presence. I may have left behind the life I had always known but maybe that's what I needed.

I wanted to be alone. I deserved to be alone. Luckily, an old Farmer, Clark Morales, needed a full-time farmhand. He was an old man and seemed nice enough on the phone. After Clark's family left to pursue their own lives, he had nobody to help. That's where I stepped in to help. It seemed we could both help each other out and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"Make a right turn in 1.3 miles onto Steel Creek Road." my GPS said breaking the eerie silence. I put my focus back on the road in front of me, speeding past all the fields full of ripe crops.

"Steel Creek Road," I mumbled to myself, searching for any sign of the road changing ahead. The turn came up unexpectedly, making me slam on the breaks not to miss it. Luckily the roads out here were deserted so nobody could get hurt...

After driving down the new road for a couple of minutes a tiny house came into view. "You have reached your destination." I pocketed my phone, took a deep breath, and opened my car door. The immediate smell of oil and leather hit me. That's when it all seemed to set in. I was really doing this.

"Hey! You're George Williams correct?" A man that looked to be in his 60's waddled up to me with an outstretched hand. Before I had the chance to answer the man, I was cut off.

"It's nice to meetcha, I'm Clark. I'm so glad you could come out and help an old coot like me." Clark chuckled, firmly grasping my hand, and shaking it. I gave him a half-hearted smile, more out of pity than amusement. His over friendliness was a pleasant surprise, if I was being honest I had expected a grumpy old man.

"Well let's get you settled in and familiar with the place." Clark smiled leading us over to my beat-up car. I pulled open the trunk with little effort and started grabbing my stuff. Clark grabbed some of the lighter bags, waddling over to the small house. After my hands were full I followed after the man.

"You'll be staying in one of the upstairs rooms. I'll show you around the house when you're ready." Clark dropped my bags off in front of an old wooden door. The place looked and smelled old but it was quite clean. I dropped my bags and opened the creaky door. Maybe I should fix this up. I thought to myself.

The room was nothing special. There was a window, a bed, and a desk. I unpacked my things and made the little room a bit more homely. After what felt like forever Clark came back up, with the same smile still plastered on his face.

"Time for dinner! I'll show you to the kitchen." He waited for me to join him as we made our way down the stairs and through the house. The kitchen was a bright yellow with a small wooden table in the middle.

"Take a seat and I'll make us both a plate. We've got chicken, cream corn, and green beans from the garden." I was already drooling, especially since I hadn't eaten since this morning. Once I left the city there was nothing until I got here.

"That sounds amazing, thank you." Clark smiled and sat a plate down in front of me.

"Let's discuss the work you'll be starting tomorrow," Clark said with a mouthful of food, "I'll need you to do most of the heavy lifting and hands-on jobs. You'll mostly be out in the fields harvesting the crops and occasionally you'll be tending to the animals. Some things may need to be fixed but that's really it." That was a little less than I was expecting but I'm not complaining.