The Farmer and the Girl

Chapter Three - The Man Lying in the Grass

It took Ava an entire week to get into the habit of a morning stroll. Not that waking up early was the problem as the strict routine of the dancing school shaped her into a morning person though she wasn't one essentially. And by the first week of her vacation, she still did not get this out of her system but even when she woke up early, she preferred to stick to her covers and pillows. Surely, putting your head on the pillow at night knowing you do not have to wake up for any specific reason offered a sound restful sleep. Its joy was only cut short by the stale air of the morning, doused with the unfamiliar scent of grass and hey. The air there weighed heavily in her lungs and plunged her deeper in her bed and white sheets. Finally after a few days, Ava was able to win against the laziness and managed to push herself immediately after waking up out of the bed. Maybe it wasn't a healthy choice but it was a needed measure. Then, after another two days, she went out on her first morning stroll and maintained this activity every day.

She took the same road every morning, down the fields, sometimes up the nearby hill and through the wheat stalks. Ava greeted the farmers with a gentle smile and they replied back, cheerful and loud with sweat sticking their hair to their foreheads. Ava wondered if this optimism was truly how they felt. And along the road, the neighboring farms filled the space. The fields blended in colors perfectly and were only separated by distasteful fences claimed by different colored houses and villas. As for the hill, Ava loved to sit there beneath the shade of a giant tree and watch the distant river flowing down. The hill wasn't steep, it was easy to get up and overlooked a nice view; the grass there was greener and felt fresher. But still she chose not to make a habit of going there everyday fearing the charm would be lost to repetition. Sometimes, she ventured even further, all the way up east to the fence of the "palace" as Ava had called that place; a large farm with a huge house, probably the biggest in the entire area. That farm had wheat crops just like all the other surrounding farms but its vernal fields made it more pleasing to the eye. Giant trees, their foliage so thick she couldn't tell what fruit they bore, interweaving a peaceful calm inviting shade upon the entire place though such extravagance usually cast away the beholder. The different types of cattle Ava spotted scarcely in the neighboring farms and her own were numerous in that farm. Ava counted three shepherds every time she went near there, driving the cattle out to the pasture from a distantly – built red barn, as if not to disturb the inhabitants with the animals' smell. On few occasions, she locked eyes with the shepherds and presented her usual smile and salute. They were nice and returned it with respect, as her stance and aura indicated she was a woman of higher status than they were, well-mannered workers, she noted.

The villa, thrice the size of Ava's family house as the girl estimated, was painted in a cheerful white, its bright gently tuned down by the black tile roofing its top and shading the numerous windows. The surrounding fence on the other hand was no different than that of the other farms around; wooden, ugly but higher and culminating in a giant elegantly carved gate that the other farms lacked. Strangely, Ava seemed to catch no one in that farm other than the farmers and workers . The place was more fitting to a large family, a husband and a wife with many children, even grandparents could fit there but to her surprise she never saw anyone. Who owned the place? Where were they? She was curious but never asked anybody, she did not want to seem interested in the single luxurious thing in the area. Bathed in the golden sun of the early morning hours, the place fanciness was similar to a fairy's tale; not a material luxury that brings material curiosity, but a fantastical one. In addition, another reason she didn't ask questions was because surprisingly and despite the beauty of the place, no one approached it. Not the neighbors nor their shepherds, and it had no visitors as well. It was singled out. "Is it because it was different? Perhaps.", Ava thought.

The girl grew to love having these short strolls, they brought peace and clarity to her mind. Not that her thoughts were round the clock plagued by troubles, but the quietude and stillness these strolls brought to her heart were enjoyable enough. Soon she discovered a new place that provided these qualities the most; a narrow sideway that twisted around the nearby river and continued down to an abandoned field. Few trees graced that place, entirely occupied by bent-grass; plenty, thin and randomly pointing out in all directions. No one walked down that road, no carriage used this shortcut and the only sound that could be heard was the breeze caressing the long grass and spreading a rather nice refreshing vernal smell contrary to the one she hated in her family's farm. That's why when a rustling sound came from between the moving grass, Ava stopped startled in her track. She lowered her parasol and watched with hitching breaths as a figure straightened up from between the grass.