Hey Olivia, you know, to look all flash and be draped in gold, Im up at five every morning, milking the cows, giving the calves a drink, handing out feed, then I head off to my main job. So theres really nothing to be jealous of.
Oh Emma! Look at you, gorgeous! And you cant even say you live in the village. Youre practically covered in gold chains, bracelets, everything I could go on forever. Honestly, if anyone from the city saw you, theyd pack up and move out to the countryside. Its brilliant to live out here, dress up, and sparkle all the time!
Emma, I swear, to look like this Im up at five, finishing the milking rounds, feeding the calves, handing out the hay, then I get ready for the main job. If you only knew what village life is like, youd think differently.
Olivia, I dont even know what a village is! Since we were kids Ive been around cows and pigs, but you turning into a fulltime farm girl is a mystery to me. We always thought youd never go back home after school.
Ah, let the past be the past. When were young we think well stick to the plan, but life has a way of flipping the script.
Olivias temper was fierce if she said shed do something, shed see it through. From a young age she boasted that the fields, potatoes, cows and calves were beneath her, that she was too pretty and clever for a farm life, and that shed never need a cow again.
Mum, Ill never go back to the village. Ill finish school, move to the city, find a rich fiancé, marry him, and stay in town. I cant stand the idea of staying out here!
Alright, love, if thats how you feel. Who knows where life will take you? The village isnt worse than the city people live there too. If youd just help with the cows, dear, itd make things easier for me while I sort dinner.
Imagine me fetching cows! The whole village would have a laugh. Mum, your cows are a nightmare. Im not going, and please dont bring it up again.
Other kids help with the livestock and their parents. What makes you think youre any different, love?
Mum, why should I compare myself to anyone else? Ive got my own brain.
Martha, Olivias mother, sighed and quietly went to the pasture to meet the feeding cows while Olivia piled on tonnes of makeup for the village disco.
Olivias friends stared enviously at the local queen who never lifted a finger for chores, never washed a dish, let alone gone into the barn. Shed never even known which side of the cows to approach. Shed grown up late, unexpected, a bit of a surprise. Her older sister was already married with grandchildren, and Martha had just discovered she was expecting again the twins came just two months apart. How could they not spoil the little one?
Years passed, the kids grew, the parents aged. Olivia finished school with a string of Cs, not the best grades, but ambition in spades.
She decided to train as a nursery teacher a tidy job with respect. Martha sighed again, sold a couple of bulls with her husband, and paid for Olivias first year of training.
No one realised at first that Olivia was juggling home and college. In her final year she kept popping back home, polishing herself in front of the mirror, waiting for someone who never showed up. She was getting plumper, more confident, and then one weekend the inlaws turned up, bragging about their goods.
The parents didnt get the jokes. Olivia, fed up, threw herself into a relationship without asking anyones blessing. Her boyfriend, also from the village, had stayed in town after college, and they fell in love.
They married just as Olivia finished college, already pregnant. Rumour had it shed only passed because of her situation, not because she was a star student.
They rented a flat in the city and started a life. The parents shipped over food parcels to keep the young couple fed. Olivia went on maternity leave, and her husband, Victor, worked double shifts. Their baby girl arrived, a perfect little copy of her mum. With two of them, the husbands salary barely covered things; with three, it was a squeeze. Victor snapped:
Ive had enough of this half a wage to my brothers landlord, and were still scraping by. Lets move back to the village until Lily grows up, thats it.
So they packed up the essentials and headed back. Victors parents bought a new house, leaving the old one empty for a while. Victor got a job on the farm a proper mechanic with a diploma, a decent wage, and no rent to pay. Olivia was hesitant at first, Why did you bring me back out here? but then she settled. Mum and motherinlaw were close by, helping with the baby and the groceries, making it feel more like a fairy tale than a grind.
The fairytale didnt last long. Both grandmothers started griping about Olivia spending hours in front of the mirror while they were out in the garden. Let the granny sit with the grandchild, and let Olivia work the plots, theyd say. Victor gave Olivia a sharp look, and she went off to pull carrots. The whole summer the garden was spotless, nothing out of place. The next year she decided to plant a proper vegetable patch, tired of the endless askforthecarrots from the elders.
Victor decided to breed a few more calves profitable, the farm needed them, the hay and feed kept coming. The grandparents moved to the nearby town and gifted a cow to the young couple. At first it was hard for Olivia to get up at the crack of dawn, but she got used to it.
Four years later a spot opened up at the local nursery when a senior teacher retired. Olivia stepped in, the establishment thrived, and they finally felt settled.
She never noticed her city dreams fading. When youre up from before dawn to late at night, youve got no time for daydreaming.
Now the grandmother had moved to the town, the daughter was at school, and Olivia stayed in the village, becoming the head of the nursery. Victor nudged her, Maybe its time to think about moving closer to civilisation?
Youre kidding, Victor? Whats wrong with what we have? Weve got our house, the garden, the farm. Moneys enough. We still pop into the city for a night out. Im happy here. Lilys still in school, so why rush?
Twenty years slipped by like a single day. They arranged a reunion with their old class, the first since theyd left school. Most of the mates were citybound now, while a few still lived in the countryside. Olivia hadnt seen her childhood pals, Katie and Hannah, for fifteen years. At the reunion most showed up.
They were shocked at how life turned out. Who wouldve thought the village girl would end up here? Half the old classmates were city folk now nobody expected that.
Take Katie, for example. She grew up on a farm, her parents worked the land. She did ok at school, never planned to go further, and a spot on the farm was waiting for her. She went to college for catering, landed a city job, got married look at her now!
And Hannah? She married her classmate Michael straight out of sixth form, lives in the city now, drives a nice car, her husband runs a business, and she doesnt work a day. She never imagined city life when she was a farm girl.
The old classmates caught up, swapped numbers, marveled at the twists of fate, then headed home. Olivia and Victor arrived, thoughtful, each lost in their own thoughts.
Sorry I dragged you back to the village, Victor. I knew youd never stand staying there. Youd be driving around the city now.
Oh, stop, love! I still drive, were not any worse off. City life isnt all sunshine, everywhere has its pros. I actually love the village. Im over the city hustle. As a kid I never helped at home because Mum and Dad spoiled me. I thought it was shameful, but Ive learned nothing comes easy. If wed stayed in rented flats or paying a mortgage, wed still be scrambling. Remember how Id avoid washing my plate? In the village, with you beside me, I finally realised hard work pays off. Were not far from the city; we could move anytime. Weve got work, a roof, what else do we need for happiness?
Exactly, Olivia. When did you fall in love with the village?
I always loved it, I just didnt see it. Never say never. Remember how I swore Id never live here? Turns out
