Another one of the stories I worked on while taking the Holly Lisle class: How to write Flash Fiction the Doesn’t Suck. (https://howtothinksideways.com/) Farming is so integral to a happy and sustainable life that I’m sure it will travel with us to the stars. Along with all of the problems we have here.
Parcel 172
“Jake! Glad to see ya. Is that your bid?”
I handed the envelope over to Mike, the colony Land Agent.
“Yeah, parcel 172. I’d like to farm it.” I grew nervous when his face went blank. “What’s wrong?”
He looked around the office. The other agent was talking on his communicator. “The Peabody Family is bidding on that parcel too.”
My heart fell, what chance did I have against the Peabodys? “They own everything already! Can’t they let someone else have their dream?”
He shrugged.
Over the next week Jake found nearly everyone trying to convince him to pull his bid. Even people he barely knew were stopping him in the stores or on the street. He told them all the same thing. “My bid’s as good as theirs.”
The following week he found that items he wanted in the store were no longer available, at least to him. Shipments disappeared, the farmer he was working for let him go. “John,” Jake pleaded outside the John’s barn. “It’s harvest! I know you need me.”
“You’re right, Jake.” John examined his boots. “But I have to let you go.”
His parents spoke to him over dinner. “Withdraw your bid son,” his father said over coffee while his mother was still in the kitchen. “They’re going after your mother. She was let go from the clinic.”
As she came into the dining room to pick up the rest of the plates, he could see she’d been crying. “I have a right to bid on that land. They know the colony wants more farms. They’re afraid they won’t win the bid because they just want another vacation home.”
His mother stopped stacking plates. “Don’t you give up, son,” she glared at her husband. “This will all die down after the bids are final. Keep to your dream.”
The next week he stopped by his fiancee’s house. Glenna met him on the porch. “I can’t go out with you tonight, Jake.”
“Is your Mom, OK?” Jake asked in alarm, “Your Dad?”
She twisted her hands together. “They’re fine, Jake.” She took a step back. “I can’t see you anymore. The pressure is too much. Both Mom and Dad’s jobs have been threatened.” Tears began to run down her cheeks. “We can’t take anymore.” She turned and fled into the house.
The day of the winning bid announcement came. Jake and his parents were in front of the courthouse. The Peabodys arrived in force with the Colony Governor. His heart fell. They’re in tight with the Governor. The bid’s been rigged. He stood taller, bracing himself for a loss. The crowd moved closer to the courthouse steps as the Governor stepped forward, “I cannot over emphasize the need for more farmers and farms on our colony,” he began. “Therefore, I grant Jake Olsen, the winning bid to parcel 172. That location will make a great farm.”
The End
481 Words
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