The Farmer and the Girl

Chapter Seven - A Dance for Solitude

The stroll from the mill to the pond that usually took ten minutes, now took double the time. And the walk to the camellia field consumed an extra hour as the promenade through the willow – lined path lasted additional two hours. Now that the season was about to change, new leisure was found in the farmer's talks, as Ava filed letter after letter to the ballet school informing the administration of confabulated adverse events; illnesses, work, travel difficulty...etc. The preparation for winter, the seeding, the turnover of soil... even mechanical engineering and machines fixing were entertaining to listen to. Many different tasks to complete before the arrival of the new season. Tasks the farmer supervised and monitored while the two youngsters took their shared strolls explaining why her strolls and walks with the farmer took longer before the girl realized that the time she needed to reach the "palace" on her own or meet the farmer at a fixed point had not changed. Another aspect that changed, was his shift of attention toward her tales and stories. He spoke less, and asked more, something she did not wish for. He kept asking about the techniques behind every routine, the history of every piece and performance and similar things but she was not someone who holds answers, and the few stumbled ones she managed brought disappointment to her heart, a disappointment that was never reflected in the farmer's eyes but nevertheless she still felt it, not knowing if it was imagined or not. Until she got the burden off her chest and replied one time, irritation veiled beneath a tone of josh:

"Do not dive into many details, I am not very good at following the rules."

"An awful trait for a ballerina."

"You need not tell me."

The ballerina replied twisting a bine between her fingers. When her eyes finally met his, she found him smiling in an admiration she did not allow her doubtful self this time to read as mockery. Instead, she smiled back at him shaking her head in amusement.

***

The landscape ahead of them was beautifully contoured in a disordered line of hills and pits, but it was contoured nonetheless. One place would look over the others as much smaller farms and houses scattered around and roads diverged then merged together again in the same circles. Changing the place from which you fancied the vision was one way to change the mood but it was bound to became tedious. It was the beginning of this feeling when Ava asked suddenly, though knowing the answer prior.

"Do you not get bored?"

"should I ?"

The farmer answered, his usual confidence munched by the questioning tone to his reply but Ava replied nonchalantly without paying notice to this.

"A tree is the same wherever you go."

"Maybe because it is a tree that I planted, I do not get bored looking at it."

"This is just narcissistic."

Ava chuckled not turning at him, still occupied by the lithe stalk she was folding repeatedly between her fingers, a habit she's developed lately. The farmer got up slightly, freeing his elbow from the weight of his head and stated looking in no particular direction:

"Only if it does not hold meaning."

Ava turned at him glimpsing at his profile, slender and pondering. He seemed deep in thoughts, thoughts he didn't share this time. Maybe he was right, Ava told herself while staring at deep green eyes that blended well with the foliage they kept looking at . In the end, this was his labor, his fruit, and there she stood; a spectator, a passive admirer. A sigh escaped her lips twisted in a lying smile, when the farmer suddenly stood up and gave her a hand to help her get up as well. Ava accepted the gesture and when she rose up, he let go of her hand. Only then did she notice; the farmer had managed somehow to become even thinner, his Adam's apple was popping out more noticeably and his slim tall fingers felt colder and further apart.