Fields
A short story by Wyatt Bass
“This is some really good coffee,” Garret said.
“Yeah, sure is, and we’re running out. I’m going to the grocery store to get some more and other things we need. Also, see what you’ve got to do today on the calendar,” Kaleb said.
“Herbicide. Yay,” said Garret lazily.
“Well, get to it. If anything happens, call or text, and remember to put the Mystic oil on the hydraulics. Not that knockoff brand.”
***
“I never thought farming would be this hard after Grandpa died last year. If only we had more time with him,” Garret said to himself in the tractor.
Suddenly, the tractor turned off completely. “Nothing around here can just work!” yelled Garret, as he got out of the tractor to see what happened. “Ok, really? How does a power take-off break straight through the middle like that?”
Garret pulled out his phone and tried to call Kaleb. His phone was dead. “And now the phone?” Angrily, Garret shoved his phone in his pocket and started walking home.
When Garret got home, he found Kaleb putting the groceries away in the kitchen. “Hey, the tractor broke down, and the power take-off split right through the middle. I tried to get ahold of you, but the phone wouldn’t work. I was thinkin’ we could go to the city and see if we can get a new power take-off.”
“Sure,” Kaleb said. “How about we get a drink at the co-op while we’re there, too?”
“Let’s go.”
***
The co-op was busy for a Saturday, and it seemed like everyone was in town. After grabbing their drinks, they headed back to the pick-up. “I gotta say, nothing is better than Dr. Pepper,” Garret said.
“I agree… hold on. Is that Leon? Let’s go say hi!” Kaleb said.
“Hey Leon! Whatcha’ doin’ out here in the middle of the day? Shouldn’t you be out in the fields?”
“Yeah, I should, but I ain't here shoppin’. I’m just selling some stuff,” Leon said.
“Ah, well, we’ll leave you to it,” Kaleb said.
“Now you boys hold on, you’d best tell me what you’re doin’ in town.”
“We were going to the city to pick up a new power take-off. That one we had for herbicide split right through the middle,” Garret said.
“Well, gosh, are you boys lucky to find me! I just so happen to have a spare right over here in the back of my pick-up.”
“Hold on. We can’t just take this from you,” Kaleb said.
Trying to think of an equal trade, Garret said, “Let’s say we’ll mow your back eighty acres and help you put up hay in the summer.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a deal,” Leon said as he handed Garret the power take-off shaft.
As Leon closed his tailgate, Kaleb noticed something shiny. “Hey, what's that you got in there?”
“Oh, that’s what I was sellin’. It’s cow skulls. Melna gives them to me to clean up real pretty, and I sell them at her antique store. People will buy anything,” Leon said. “I call it Cash Cow.”
“You mean Melna, our neighbor?” Kaleb asked.
“Yep.”
“I had no idea she did that. That’s pretty cool,” said Garret.
“Well, you boys better get home soon. It’s getting dark and sounds like your field jobs ain’t quite done yet.”
As Kaleb and Garret headed back towards home, Kaleb cranked the heater in their grandfather’s old pickup. “Every night just keeps getting colder, Garret. I swear, last night felt good, and tonight it’s just freezin’.”
“Hey, stop! There’s something in the road, Kaleb!”
Kaleb slammed on the brakes, and dust billowed around the cab. “Get out and pick it up,” Kaleb said.
Garret got out and picked up the thing on the road. “Kaleb, it’s a cow skull like the one Leon had!”
“Seriously? Put it in the back.”
When Garret got back in the pickup, Kaleb asked, "How do you think someone drops that and leaves it right in the middle of the road?”
“I’ve got no idea, but let’s drop it off at Melna’s house because she said she was going to Leon’s house tomorrow,” Garret said. “Also, look what I found in the mouth. This piece of paper was folded up in there.” He handed the paper to Kaleb.
“It’s a map of our field,” Kaleb said. “That’s kinda creepy. Melna’s house is just up ahead. We’ll drop it off and check out that spot marked on the map.”
“It looks like it's marking a place in the middle of our east forty,” Garret said. After pulling through the gate, Kaleb and Garret got out and walked a short distance. “Ok, the spot on the map is right where we’re standing,” Garret said.
“You sure?” Kaleb asked. “‘Cause there ain’t nothing here except for beautiful little wheat sprouts.”
“I’m really sure. Maybe it was just a random dot on a map.”
“More than likely. Let’s go home and get some sleep. Today has been crazy,” said Kaleb.
***
After being asleep for what felt like five minutes, Kaleb jumped out of bed. “Yo! Garret! Get up! Did you hear that?!”
“No, what’s wrong?” Garret asked with a yawn.
“I don’t know, but I heard a really loud, high-pitched whistle!”
Grumbling, Garret said, “Hey, Kaleb, calm down. Tell me what time it is.” Irritated, Kaleb said, “Around two.”
Suddenly, the whistle sounded again. They both heard it that time and decided they should call Tommie and Melna to ask if they heard it.
Before they could dial, the phone started ringing. It was Tommie and Melna’s number. “Well, scratch that. I guess they’ll call us,” Kaleb said.
Over the phone, Tommie was talking quickly and sounded frightened.
“Have y’all seen Melna?” Tommie asked. “She said she heard something outside and went to check it out. She hasn’t come back, and I’ve looked all over for her! I know my wife! She wouldn’t just walk off on her own.”
“Hey, Tommie, stop talking so fast and tell us again,” Garret said. Tommie repeated it slower.
“Alright, now, did she say what she heard?” Kaleb asked.
“Yeah, she said it was some kind of whistle.”
“I heard the same thing!” Garret said. “Come down to our house. We’ll work out a plan to help you find Melna.”
***
“Did you know it’s snowing outside, boys?” asked Tommie when he arrived at Garret and Kaleb’s house.
“Goodness, what other stuff is going to happen today?” asked Kaleb.
“Who knows, but grab a coat, and let’s find your wife, Tommie,” Garret said. “Did you check your field and see if she wandered out there?”
“Yes, I’ve checked all over my field. Let’s check yours.”
As the three men walked out to the field, they noticed something really eerie.
“There’s no snow falling on this field. It’s downright spooky out here,” Garret said. The snow continued to fall, but disappeared before landing on the wheat sprouts.
“Let’s just find Melna and get out of here,” Tommie said.
Garret, Kaleb, and Tommie took turns yelling Melna’s name. Then there was another whistle.
“Not again. Now we really need to find Melna because whatever’s making that noise can’t be good!” Garret said.
“Hold on! There’s something in the middle of the field!” Tommie said excitedly.
“Is that a person?” Kaleb said. “What are they doing in our field?”
“Let’s go find out,” Tommie said. “Melna! Melna!”
Suddenly, Garret stopped in his tracks. “Hey, guys, be quiet. That IS Melna! She has the cow skull we dropped off on her porch on her head. We need to get closer, but I don’t want to scare her,” Garret said.
“Well, she’s already scaring me!” Kaleb whispered-yelled.
Once they got closer to Melna, Garret calmly asked, “Hey, Melna, are you okay?” Melna fainted, and the cow skull fell off her head.
“Garret, what did you do?” Tommie yelled.
“I don’t know! Let’s get her back to our house,” Garret said.
Once they got back to the house, Melna started waking up. “No, you're doing things wrong… it shouldn’t be that way… you need to… it’s not right,” Melna said sleepily.
“Melna, what are you talking about? What’s not right? Are we doing something wrong?” Garret asked.
“She’s just starting to wake up. She’s not making any sense. Give her some time,” Tommie said.
Fifteen minutes later, Melna woke up, and then they heard the whistle again. “No, no, no! That was the same whistle I heard!” Melna said, frightened.
“Melna, we’re going to go see what that is and try to put an end to it. Just stay here, and try to remember more of what happened, ok?” Kaleb said. “I’ll try,” Melna said, still confused.
“Kaleb, we may want to check out the spot where we found Melna,” Garret said quietly so Melna couldn’t hear. “Let’s leave Tommie here with her.”
After they walked out to the field, Kaleb yelled, “This is our field, and we can’t find the beginning, middle, or end of it!”
“I know, but it’s got to be around here somewhere,” Garret yelled back. “Maybe it’s best to go ask Melna if she's remembered anything more, and maybe it will give us a better idea of where to go.” Kaleb and Garret walked back to their house.
Tommie met them at the door and let them in. “You find anything?”
“No, we can’t even tell where we’re standing,” Kaleb said unhappily.
“You’re in luck because Melna remembers more now,” Tommie said. “Melna, can you tell us what you remember?” Kaleb asked.
“I remember stepping outside my house because I heard that whistle. Then, as I was walking, I saw lots of bison, flowers, and horses. And in place of your barn, there was a house made of sod.”
“Anything else?”
“When I got to your field, someone was walking and holding a map as if he was trying to find a spot in your field.”
“Hey! Where's that map we found in that cow skull?” Kaleb asked.
“I’ll go grab it!” Garret said excitedly.
When Garret returned with the map, he handed it to Melna. “That’s it! That’s where I was. We need to go there!”
“Really?” Kaleb asked. “I thought this map meant nothing.”
“No, I’m very sure that’s where I was standing,” Melna said. “Let’s go!”
“Are you sure you want to come?” Kaleb asked.
“Yeah, I want to know what is going on,” Melna insisted.
With Melna’s help and the map, they arrived back at the spot where they had found her before she fainted.
“What happened here? There aren’t any wheat sprouts growing in this circle. It’s nothing but fine dirt,” Kaleb said. “Could something be buried here?”
“It never hurts to check, right?” Garret asked. He started digging with his hands. “Kaleb, something is buried right here. There’s something sharp. Feel it.” Garret stepped out of the way to let Kaleb get a closer look.
“It feels like a bone. Try pulling on it. The soil is so loose it should pop right out,” said Kaleb.
Garret pulled on the bone. “It’s a painted cow skull.”
“Whoa, that thing is beautiful,” Kaleb said in awe.
“Hey, boys, nice skull, but someone’s walking towards us,” Melna said, sounding anxious.
“From where? It’s so dark I can’t see more than three feet,” Garret said.
“Right over there,” Melna said, pointing to the right.
“I see them now. Whoever that is must be causing all this,” Garret said. “Let’s go and have a nice chat with them.
As the figure moved closer, they noticed the man had a bow and arrow strapped to his back. “He looks transparent, like a ghost,” Garret said.
“Hello, I am called Danuwoa of the Cherokee tribe, and I have no wish to harm you,” he said when they got closer.
“My name is Garret.”
“I’m Kaleb.”
“And I’m Melna.”
My great-great-great-granddaughter, Danuwoa told himself.
“I am here to guide you to a more prosperous life,” said Danuwoa. “Your fields are on the wrong path, and the Earth does not like what you have planted.”
“So… what should we be planting?” Kaleb asked.
“Your family's history of wheat farming on this land has exhausted the soil. Wheat is not the answer for this land. Move on to a new crop, and you and your land will flourish.”
“What was the meaning of the cow skulls?” Garret asked.
“I used cow skulls and the map to get your attention and try to give you my message. In no way was it meant to scare you,” Danuwoa explained.
“What about the whistling noise?” Melna asked.
“That is the signal we used to communicate with each other. Because you are related to me, I was able to guide you to where I was, but the whistle had a greater effect on you. Again, I did not want to scare you.”
Melna turned to Danuwoa. “Can I talk with you privately?”
After they moved away from Garret and Kaleb, Melna asked, “So, we’re related?”
“Yes, you are my great-great-great-granddaughter, and I ask you to watch and guide your friends with their farming decisions.”
“I don’t know much about farming.”
“Study the land. Feel the soil. You will learn,” said Danuwoa confidently. Turning back to Garret and Kaleb, Danuwoa said, “I’m sorry our time together has been short. The sun has nearly risen, and my purpose is served, so I must leave.” Garret, Kaleb, and Melna told Danuwoa how grateful they were for his help and said goodbye.
“Goodbye,” Danuwoa said, and he turned and faded into the horizon as the sun rose.
***
Through the rest of winter, Melna, Garret, and Kaleb spent time at the town library learning everything they needed to know about farming and crop rotation. They planted in the spring, and their crop yield was better than wheat had ever been.
Bio:
Wyatt Bass is a high school student in Oklahoma with an interest in agricultural science and creative writing. This story was written as part of a school project.
Wyatt is a fifth-generation Oklahoman and enjoys spending time on the farm with his grandfather. In his spare time, he enjoys playing guitar and tennis, tending his vegetable gardens in the summer, and helping his parents with their apiary. Also, according to him, no one loves Dr. Pepper more.
