"Move you stupid cows!" a large man shouted as he tried to shepherd the animals out their pen. However, they adamantly refused his calls which only brought his blood to a boil. It was taxing all his patience not to grab his cleaver and hack the cows into juicy steaks. They normally listened to his instructions, but they were oddly rebellious today. "Elizabeth, can you deal with these cows? I can't deal with this much longer. I need to help your mother with the other preparations."
Elizabeth had walked into the barn carrying a pail of fresh cow milk and a small pouch of eggs. She had just finished milking the other cows and fetching the eggs from the chicken pen. Right before that, she was helping in harvesting the corn and wheat from the fields. In no time at all, it was already close to noon and she was drenched in sweat. The hot summer weather had yet to leave, even though it was the first day of autumn. After giving the milk and eggs to her father, she turned to look at the cows with a sympathetic face.
"They're not obeying you because they know what day it is. What kind of animal wants to be slaughtered?" she chided.
Roan hmphed. "The anniversary will have everyone there. Of course, that also means the Mordrig Family and the Yellar Family. If we show up with only some milk or corn, we'll be a laughingstock to them and the entire town. We can't let them one up us this year as well!"
Elizabeth sighed. Her father was rather overly competitive and butted heads with the other farmer families more than once. Raising cows was no simple matter. It took years of effort to rear them up to the point of slaughter. Needless to say, the cows Roan chose were the best they had. They were carefully nurtured to be the perfect mix of lean and fat. Old enough to have a lot of meat but young enough to maintain their sumptuous taste. Her father was truly going all out this time around.
"I'll leave it in your care, okay?" Roan shouted as he walked away.
"Ah…" As soon as the cows left, they glanced at Elizabeth with condescending gazes. "What am I going to do with you bunch?"
"Hm? I thought your father would have been here." The girl turned around to see her mother approach. The woman understood the situation with a glance. "That man… I told him to deal with the cows, but he made you deal with it instead. I should give him an earful later."
Elizabeth gave a hollow laugh. Although Roan was the man of the house, with a strong build that proudly displayed the hard work on a farm, Victoria kept him by the ear. She was unexpectedly frightening when she was angry! Elizabeth learned it very early on that upsetting her mother was a recipe of pain. Once when she was younger, she wanted to keep a chick in her room to raise. When her mother found out, not only was she yelled at for an hour straight, but she also had nothing to eat for the entire day! Therefore, she could not help but smile wryly at her mother's words.
"Are you having trouble with the cows, Elizabeth?"
"Yes, you're right. They know what we're going to do so they're intentionally being stubborn. I don't think I can corral them. Do you have any idea?"
Victoria walked closer to the cows and patted one. "They say cows are surprisingly aware. Honestly, if it wasn't for Edward's marriage proposal, I would have ignored your father."
"Then what do we do?"
"Let me show you a trick," her mother smiled. She started to scratch the chin of a cow and it happily received the attention. "Cows can sense your mood and react off that. Your father must have tipped them off so they're particularly on edge. If that's the case, then with a little gentle persuasion…" With that, the cow obediently followed the woman's directions and exited the pen. The other cows noticed the atmosphere and went along as well. It was a surreal sight for Elizabeth.
"Amazing!"
"Of course!" she proudly boasted. "I've worked on the farm for nearly forty years now. If I didn't pick up a few tricks here and there, I would be too ashamed of myself!"
"Please teach me!"
Victoria laughed loudly as she patted her daughter's head. "Don't worry. I would've taught you everything even if you didn't ask! We can talk about it after tomorrow. For now, go get changed and we'll head off as soon as you're ready, alright?"
Elizabeth nodded and sprinted away toward the house in high spirits. Seeing her daughter so happy made Victoria's heart hurt. The woman looked up into the sky with her empty eyes and watched as the clouds drifted across the open blue sky. Time passed in the blink of an eye. My little girl is already sixteen years old… She bit her lip and held back the mounting tears as feelings of sadness exploded inside her. No matter what anyone says, she is my daughter! Every second with her is precious. I'll make sure she lives a life with no regrets! If she could, she wished she could rewind time and relive her precious time with her family once more. But hope as she might, the world would keep moving toward the next stage with or without her.
***
Elizabeth twirled in front of her mirror, fully displaying her dress. Different from her work clothes which were drab and dirty, she was now wearing a beautiful red one-piece silk dress. Her hair, skin, and nails were meticulously cleaned, and they radiated a young healthy glow. Although she normally preferred plainer cloths, dressing up occasionally was fun. If one were to look at this scene, they would be shocked at the obvious disparity in wealth. The room was bare, and the furniture was old which showed the poorness of this family. But that was a given. Who would expect that a farmer's family to be rich? However, the dress that Elizabeth wore flaunted an extraordinary show of wealth. The soft touch of silk, the vibrant red colors, and the intricate design were worth a thousand meals or more.
"A little tight around the shoulders and the hip…" she murmured. "I might have to stop wearing this dress in a year or so." With a sigh, she added, "I wonder when I'll see Aunt Christina again."
Of course, this Aunt Christina was not her true blood relative but a very close friend of the family. She would show up every now and then, and she would gift Elizabeth with a plethora of dazzlingly expressive trinkets like this dress. Edward and Aisa would be upset every time as they would be left emptyhanded. Even Elizabeth had no idea why she deserved this special treatment, but she was grateful every time. The woman would stay over for a day at most before disappearing to who knows where. Perhaps this aunt lived in the forest or by the mountainside? Elizabeth really had to wonder as New Havens was not a big place.
Person aside, the dresses were more valuable than the entire farm combined. The value of the materials and the skills required really did seem unlike anything the small town of New Havens had to offer! Now that Elizabeth thought about it, this woman was full of mysteries. The next time I see her, I'll be sure to ask her about it! she decided. Though she wanted to, the last time Christina showed up was around four years ago. Before then, she used to show up every year or so. Now, there was not the slightest peep from her. Hopefully there's nothing wrong…
She shook away these depressing thoughts by slapping herself on the cheeks. That cannot do! It's my brother's big day and I shouldn't be brooding about unnecessary things. I'm sure Aunt Christina is fine.
The girl gave a small smile and fetched a golden medallion hanging around her dresser. It was an exquisitely crafted trinket in the shape of a fierce lion. Although it was a bit lopsided and seemed almost malformed, she had gotten this as a present when she was born alongside a flawless white winged bow. Whenever she laid eyes on them, she would feel an indescribable sense of warmth and familiarity from them. It was odd to describe but they were like a symbol of home, of security to her. She proudly wore the lion around her neck as her siblings came knocking on the door.
"Oh, not bad, little sister," Edward laughed.
"So pretty!" Aisa happily said.
"I'm surprised you could still fit into that old dress."
"How rude!" Elizabeth rebutted. "I'll let you know that I'm as skinny as before."
"Right, right," her brother snickered.
"Elizabeth! Me too!" Aisa said.
"Hm…" she thought. "There should be some of my old dresses around that you might be able to fit in. Let's see what we can do! And you too, Edward, you should wear something a little nicer! This is your big day after all."
"Huh?" He looked over at his clean clothes, but they did look a bit dull. "I guess you're right. I don't really have a sense for these types of things," he embarrassingly admitted.
"Should I help you out?" Elizabeth teased.
"I don't want to wear one of your dresses," he replied to which Elizabeth laughed with teary eyes.
"Are you sure? I think it'd be quite a memorable sight."
"You three! Hurry up! We don't want to be late for the event!" their father sounded from downstairs prompting the siblings to chuckle.
"You two get prepared. I'll go ask father if he has any spare clothing for me," Edward shouted as he walked away.
"Come on, Aisa. Let's see what cute dresses we can fit on you!"
"Yay!"
***