Fiction by Maria Odessky Rosen
By Maria Odessky Rosen
Gertrude had had it. She had put up with
the newcomers for as long as she could. Yes, it had been her ancestors’ land
forever before the squatters had come, and they were all trespassers by all the
rules of natural law. And yes, she could have done things, all sorts of things,
unpleasant things to make them want to leave. But she hadn’t, had she? No, she
was open-minded and aware that times change and that sooner or later, she would
have to share her home with them. Hadn’t she heard from her relatives across
the prairie that new constructions were going up all over? Giant machines
ripping deep into the earth, erecting all kinds of hideous monstrosities for
the interlopers. She had always realized it would be just a matter of time
before they invaded her family’s spot by the stream.
They had the loveliest spot. How she loved
climbing onto the tallest rock, standing very tall and surveying her property:
rolling hills and verdant trees and shrubs as far as the eye could see. She got
such pleasure from watching her own kids or those of her neighbors jumping and
frolicking across the land in front of her. She loved listening to their
cheerful banter and chatter. She felt like the queen of the realm. But that was
all before. Now all their homes had been destroyed and replaced by giant ugly boxes.
And that’s not all.
The strangers had sprayed all the berries
and flowers with poison. Can you imagine? You go to your favorite wild
raspberry or blackberry bush to pick delicious berries for breakfast only to
find that they have an acrid, obnoxious odor which prevents you from even
touching them. The same berry bushes that you fertilized and watched grow to
maturity! How would they feel if that happened to their precious petunias? The
ones they have been watering and deadheading so carefully for so long, marking
the birth of each new bud like a proud new mother watching her babies grow. Ever
since the invaders came with their ugly boxes, everything had been a struggle
around here. Now it’s like every time you create anything beautiful, they
always serve as an opposing force whose goal seems to destroy all the beauty
you took such pride nurturing.
But that’s not even the worst of it. They
are reckless murderers! And they are lazy, never walking anywhere, climbing
into their ugly rectangular boxes on wheels and speeding out, not giving a care
in the world about who might be walking along the road. And yesterday,
yesterday, they went too far. Yesterday, one of them killed Simon. While Simon
wasn’t her favorite, he was one of her own. He was family. And you stand up for
your family. Gertrude had been brought up right. And now, finally, she had had
enough. When they had destroyed her home and planted their box right over it,
she had moved. When they had poisoned her beautiful berry bushes, she had found
new ones, but this was too much. They had gone too far. What if they had killed
one of her babies!?
And so, Gertrude was done playing nice. She
climbed up on the old rock, one of the few still standing. She surveyed their
acres and acres of vegetable gardens, and she knew exactly what she needed to
do. She had never been vengeful before, but this sight of an endless supply of
vegetables with their deep roots and underground bulbs made her salivate and
turned her into something new entirely. Why, she wouldn’t even need that many
others to help her. Just a small group that would be willing to relocate, and honestly
who wouldn’t want to sign up for such abundance? Why, she would be doing an
entirely new population a favor.
Say goodbye to your vegetables!