Lady Terra and the Farm Boy: Part 3

Read part one here and part two here.

“Granma!” the boy yelled running up to a withered old woman. “Tell me a story!”

“Calm down, calm down,” she laughed. “I’m not as young as I once was. Now sit down and tell me which story you want to hear.”

“The one about the earth,” the boy said with a smile.

“You always want to hear about the earth. Are you sure you don’t want to hear something else? Maybe a story about pirates? Or what about knights serving their king?”

“No Granma. I wanna hear about the earth!”

“Alright, alright. You win. Let me get comfortable,” the old woman said while she shifted her weight in the weathered rocking chair. “Once upon the time the soul of the earth walked among men.”

The boy sat crossed legged on the ground. Then he leaned forward as he listened intensely to every word his grandmother said.

“And then Millie watched Lady Terra slip into the forest never to be seen again. But Millie never forgot the day the soul of the earth deemed her worthy of protection.”

The boy smiled and said, “I wish Lady Terra was real. Then maybe she could help us.”

“What do you mean you wish she was real? She is real.”

“Granma, I’m eight now. I know how to tell when something is just a story.”

“Just because it’s a story doesn’t mean it’s not true. You know this story has been passed down from generation to generation in our family but do you know why?”

“No.”

“Because, Joseph, the little girl in the story, Millie, she is one of your ancestors. This isn’t just a story about Lady Terra. It’s a story about your family.”

Joseph’s eyes grew wide, “But my friend Tim said Lady Terra wasn’t real and only babies believed in her.”

“Well, your friend Tim is wrong. Unfortunately, the world has forgotten the truth. That’s why Lady Terra doesn’t still walk among us.”

Joseph dug the plow into the hard ground. Maybe if he worked hard enough this year would be different. Last winter had been exceptionally rough. This year needed to be different.

His muscles shook while he worked but he ignored his fatigue. He had been in the field since dawn, and it was now late afternoon. He had stopped only once for some water and once for some soup that was mostly water.

“Joseph!”

Looking up, Joseph saw a group of his peers standing at the edge of the field in the road. One of the girls was waving at him to come over. Gently placing the plow on the ground, Joseph walked over to the group.

“Hi, Joseph.” the girl said with a smile. “We’re going down to the river would you like to join us?”

Joseph opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, a boy in the group spoke. “Oh come on Val. He’s never going to come. He’s too busy playing in the dirt.”

The group laughed as Joseph took in a slow breath his hands balled into a fist. When his eyes met Val’s, she wasn’t laughing. However, she quickly glanced at the ground. One hand stretched across her chest grasping her upper arm while she kicked at a stone with her foot. “If you’re too busy I understand,” she said.

“No I’m sure I could-” he said as he reached out.

“Joseph! Joseph!”

Pulling his hand back quickly, Joseph turned to the young boy racing up to him. “What is it, Tommy?”

“Mom said she needed you. It’s Sara-”

Joseph sprinted towards home before Tommy could finish, leaving Val and the rest of the group behind.

The door crashed against the wall as Joseph threw it open. “Mom!”

“Hush!” his mom said as she came out of the only other room in the house. “I just got her comfortable. She’s sleeping now, hopefully.”

“Is Sarah okay?”

“For now, but I can’t get her fever to break. Every time I think it will something happens, and it spikes again. I don’t know what else to do,” she said while she walked briskly to the window to open the shutters.

She thought she could deceive him, but Joseph had seen the tears in her eyes. His mother always tried to protect them. Joseph could tell her inability to help her youngest was wearing on her soul. “What can I do to help? You wouldn’t have sent Tommy if it wasn’t important.”

“Oh that. I’m sorry. I didn’t’ mean to worry you. With your father at the market for the day, well, I just had a weak moment.” She said this still facing away from Joseph.

Respecting her need to regain composure, Joseph remained on the other side of the room. “Do you think Dad will be able to get any medicine?”

“Maybe. There is always some hope.”

They both knew she was lying.