“Emma, you think I stroll about in gold, but Im up at five each morning, milking the cows, feeding the calves, handing out feed, then only after that do I head off to the main job. Theres nothing here for you to be jealous of.
Oh, Emma! Look at you, all glittering! Chains, bracelets, even a gold bangle I cant stop chattering. Youve proved everyone in town that village life isnt as grim as they say. If they saw you, any city folk would pack up and move out to the countryside. Living out here, looking sharp and shining in gold its the dream.
You know, Emma, to look the way I do I rise at five, finish the milking, water the calves, dole out the hay, then head to the day job. If you only knew what life on a farm is like, youd think twice.
Emma, Ive known cows and pigs since I was a girl, unlike you who turned into a village spinster overnight a mystery to me. We always thought after school youd never come back home.
Ah, the past is the past. In our youth we were all idealists, convinced everything would go our way, only to find out it seldom does.
Emmas temper was fierce; once she said something she did anyway. From the start she declared the farm, the potatoes, the cows and calves were beneath her, that she was too beautiful and clever for such a life. She swore shed never need those beasts again.
Mother, Ill never return to your village. Ill finish school, move to the city, find a rich fiancé, marry him and stay there. I cant stand the thought of staying in the countryside!
Very well, Emma, but who knows what life will bring? The village isnt worse than the city; people live there too. If youd help with the cows, dear, things would be easier for me while I prepare dinner.
Imagine me tending the cows! The whole village would have a laugh. Mother, your cows are your friends, I wont go near them, and dont ask me that again.
Other children help with the livestock, why cant you? What makes you better than them?
Mother, I have my own mind.
Martha, Emmas mother, sighed and quietly walked back to the pasture to meet the feeding cows while Emma piled on cosmetics for the village disco.
Emmas friends stared enviously at the local queen who never lifted a finger for housework, never washed a dish, let alone entered the barn. She didnt even know which side of the cows to approach. She was the lateblooming, unexpected child. Her older sister was already married with grandchildren, and now Martha discovered she was pregnant too, giving birth only two months after her elder sibling. How could anyone not spoil the little one?
Time passed; children grew, parents aged. Emma finished school with average grades a string of Cs but ambition still burned.
She chose to train as a nursery teacher, a clean, respectable job. Martha sighed again; the family sold a pair of bullocks and paid for Emmas first year of tuition.
No one realised at first that Emma was juggling work and home. In her final college year she kept returning home, dressing up before the mirror, peering out the window as if waiting for someone, yet evenings found her alone.
She grew into a confident young woman. One weekend her inlaws dropped by, saying they had a buyer for their produce.
The parents were baffled by the jokes the inlaws made. Emma, without asking her parents, darted into a relationship. Her boyfriend, also from the village, had stayed in town after college and they fell in love.
They married while Emma was still in college, heavily pregnant. Rumour had it she passed her exams only because of her circumstances; academically she wasnt a star.
They rented a flat in the city and started a life together. The parents sent food parcels so the young couple could feed themselves. Emma went on maternity leave, and James, her husband, worked two jobs. Their daughter was born, a beauty just like her mother. With two, Jamess wages barely covered them; with three, it was hopeless. James snapped:
Im fed up, Emma. Im tired of halfpaying the rent to some landlords brother. Lets move back to the village until Lily grows up, and thats that.
They packed the essentials and drove back. Jamess parents had bought another house, leaving the old one empty. The young couple settled there. James got a job on a farm a good mechanic, qualified, though the pay was a bit lower than in the city, it covered everything, no housing costs. Emma first protested, Why bring me back to the village? but soon calmed down. With mother and motherinlaw nearby, they were helped with the baby and food, turning life into a fairytale.
Soon the fairytale hit a snag. Both Martha and the motherinlaw complained that Emma spent hours in front of the mirror while they were out in the garden. Let the granddaughter sit and help, they urged. Emma, still young, found it easier to work the rows. She protested, but James gave her a sideways glance that said, Enough, lets get to the carrots. The whole summer they harvested, leaving the garden spotless. The next year Emma decided to plant her own plot, tired of asking her parents for every carrot.
James decided to raise more cattle, thinking it profitable hay, feed, everything. Where there are calves, there are cows. Emmas parents moved to the district centre and gifted a young cow to the couple. At first Emma struggled with the early mornings, but soon got the hang of it.
Four years later a spot opened up at the nursery when a longserving staff member retired. Emma stepped in, and the respectable establishment flourished.
She never noticed her citylife dreams fading. From dawn till dusk she was busy with chores and worries.
Now the motherinlaw lived in the town centre, the daughter attended school, and Emma remained in the village, having risen to head the nursery. James suggested they might consider moving closer to civilisation.
Whats wrong with staying, James? We have our house, our garden, enough money. We still visit the city often. Im happy here. Who would run the nursery if I left? Lilys about to finish school, then well see, but for now Im content.
Twenty years slipped by like a single day. The old class reunited after school. Emma saw many former classmates: some still lived in the village, others had moved to the city. She hadnt met her childhood friends, Katie and Tara, in fifteen years. The reunion was full of surprise.
Half the old classmates were now city dwellers, something none had expected.
Take Katie, for example. Shed spent her whole life on a farm, parents working the land. She studied modestly, never planning further education, and a spot on the farm was ready for her. She later trained as a chef, moved to the city, married, and now shes a polished lady.
And Tara? She married at the end of school to Michael, a classmate. They live in the city, own a flat, drive a car. Her husband runs a business, and she doesnt work, though she grew up in the countryside and never imagined city life.
The former classmates chatted, exchanged numbers, marveled at lifes twists, then drifted apart. Emma and James returned home, thoughtful, each lost in his own thoughts.
Im sorry, Emma, for taking you to the city back then. I knew you couldnt stand the village. Youd be driving a car now, living in the city.
Oh, James! I still drive, and were not worse off than anyone else. City life isnt all sunshine; both places have their pluses. I love the village. Im tired of the city. Not helping around at home as a child wasnt my fault my parents pampered me. I thought it was shameful to be a housewife. If you hadnt taken me back then, wed still be on a rented flat or paying a mortgage. Remember how Id shy away from clearing my plate? In the village, at home, beside you, I learned that work is needed everywhere. Were not far from the city; we can move any time. A job, a home what else do we need for happiness?
Yes, Emma. When did you finally learn to love the village?
I always loved it, I just didnt see it. Never say never. Remember how I shouted Id never live in the countryside? Turns out
