Dream of dreams

It was a peaceful sunday afternoon, the sun was giving Chad a hard time. The tree he was leaning against did not provide nearly enough shade, and he wished so much for a light breeze – any breeze – to alleviate the acrid sweat drops’ futile attempts to cool off his overheating body. Usually, Sundays were the days he could relax, where he didn’t need to think about working in the fields and carrying large and heavy bags of wheat and corn, because on Sundays, the factory was closed for business. It was a difficult and tedious life, working at a farm for long hours, listening to the boss’ incessant nagging to work harder and faster.

A small bird flutters by and lands near Chad, pulling him deeper into his reveries. The plumage on the bird’s wings was a deep mahogany, perfectly glistening under the rays of the mid-afternoon sun – it reminded him of the beautiful luscious hair his muse once wore braided around her neck. He wished they were still together, but knew it was not possible. Sarah is no longer his. She was highly ambitious, always focused on the bigger picture, on winning greater prizes in the competitions she partook every week. She travelled across the country to pursue her dreams and one day, she simply outgrew the pitiful farm life with Chad. He longed to follow her but his health problems prohibited him from travelling long distances.

His heart sank. He wished he could leave these fields behind to find himself a better life, but it is too late, he is getting old and it is no longer possible for his tired body to learn a different trade, and upon the realization of his somber fate at spending the rest of his short life labouring on the farm, he closed his eyes and meditated. He had no friends and no family. He lost touch with everyone he knew when this new life was imposed onto him at a young age. Even Eddy, his new coworker of a month rarely spoke to him, and seldom even ate lunch with him.

Chad often wished for an early retirement and how wonderful it would be to travel and see the mountains and beaches of the world, to lay in lavender fields and to sleep under the stars. He wonders if Sarah thinks of him as often as he thought of her.

He could hear, in the distance, the owner of the farm cry out to his partner, “Good thang w’got Eddy, looks like my ol’boy needs to be let go soon. Today’s the day, ‘ay, call the vet.”

Were they talking about him? Are they finally liberating him from his duties? As Chad lay his head back to the ground, trying to tune out the heat and the pain he felt in his worn and torn body, he inhaled in the arid air around him and dreamt of the showhorse life he could’ve had with Sarah.