Tracks of Life

Chapter 1

"Diana, go feed the animals, please," my mother called across our small house.

"I already did, mother!" I yelled back, going back to whittling a small statuette of my pig, Bacon.

"All of them?" she asked.

"Yes!" I cried, exasperated.

"Even the chickens?"

I paused in my project, slapping myself with the back of my hand as I remembered those creatures. I laid aside my work, and went into the kitchen. I kissed my mother on the cheek and said, "Be right back."

"Love you, honey!" she called after me.

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, letting the door close behind me quietly.

I ran out to the barn, grabbing the sack of corn that we used to feed the chickens. I called to them, watching them flap around like a group of old women who just heard a new piece of juicy gossip. I threw the corn at them, making sure not to get pecked. They were quite ravenous, not having been fed yet. In my defense, they were quite easy to forget, being greedy, nasty things.

After that dangerous chore was done, I went to go visit my favourite animal. I walked up to the pig's pen and called for him.

"Bacon! Come here, sweet boy!" I called. He came trotting out of the shed in the pen. He snorted happily when he saw me. He was a pudgy, black pig with pink spots. He came up and sniffed my hand for treats. "Sorry, baby, no treats right now. You are a very fat, spoiled pig!"

He snorted and looked up at me earnestly. I laughed, "I know! I'm the one who made you so spoiled! You were such a cute little piglet. Don't get me wrong, you are a very handsome pig, but you've lost the cuteness you possessed as a baby!"

Bacon turned around and trotted off, rolling around in the mud. He glanced at me several times as he was doing it too.

"I'm not giving you a bath later, you greedy little thing!" I laughed, heading back to the house. I opened the door to find my mother and father at the table eating breakfast.

"There's our baby!" my mother cooed. "Happy 17th Birthday, Diana!"

They both stood up and attacked me in a group, bear hug.

"Need air! " I gasped. They let me go. My mother patted my hair affectionately as she pulled away. I sat down at the table, pouring syrup over my pancakes. We usually couldn't afford things like syrup, but today was a special day. Still, I used the sweet syrup moderately. After I had filled my mouth with the sticky goodness, my father pushed a package across the table, smiling while he did it. I reached across the table, taking it, then carefully unwrapping it. My eyes widened when I saw a brand new dress. "How did you pay for this?" I gasped.

"We saved, of course. We wanted to get you something special," my mother said, tears filling her eyes.

"All of the boys won't be able to keep their eyes off of you!" my father said. I blushed, holding the dress to my chest.

"Do you like it?" my mother asked.

"I love it," I whispered.

"Well, go try it on," my father said.

I stood up, hurrying out of the room and into my own. I quickly stripped out of my farm clothes, then very gently put on the new dress. It was light blue and complemented by white-blonde hair and light blue eyes well. I stood in front of my mirror, twirling around, watching the skirt flair out. I ran out and spun around

"Aw, you're so pretty, baby girl!" my mother exclaimed.

"Prettiest girl in Oklahoma, I'd say," my father said.

"Y'all are embarrasing me!" I said, looking down at my feet.

"Maybe the prettiest girl in the country," my father continued.

I headed back to my room, calling out behind me, "I'm taking it off now."

"Possibly the prettiest girl in the world," I heard my father say. My mother giggled. I rolled my eyes as I changed my clothes. I felt more comfortable in my work clothes. I headed back into the kitchen to see my father giving my mother a quick kiss. "We made the prettiest girl in the world."

My mother smiled at me and reached out for my hand. I took it and grinned back. After a few seconds, I said, "I need to go finish my chores."

My father stood up, "I need to start mine. . ."

My mother and I both laughed, knowing he had been up early this morning working. My mother kissed both of us as we headed out onto the farm. My father went to go fix some of the fences that had fallen in the last storm, and I headed toward the fields to move the sheep to another field. Our herding dog loped behind me as I walked the long way to the field that the sheep were in last night. The sheep bleated at me sleepily as I climbed over the fence to open the gate.

I spent the rest of the afternoon herding the sheep around the other fields.

************

I came back into the house around noon to grab my lunch and eat quickly before I went back out to work. This time, I grabbed my basket of tools and scaled the barn to fix the roof. Part of it had started to leak after that last storm. I put a string of nails in my mouth and grabbed the hammer. I grabbed some new wood and set it in place, hammering down the pieces. After I had finished that, I conceded into giving Bacon a bath. He snorted happily while I rubbed soap into his skin. Then, I rinsed him off with a bucket of water.

"You are the most spoiled pig in the state of Oklahoma!" I declared, with my hands on my hips as Bacon rooted around in the grass. I sighed and bent down to rub his head between his ears. He rolled over so I could rub his stomach. I laughed and obliged.

Right then, a powerful wind ripped across the field. When the dust started flying into my eyes, I grabbed Bacon and led him into the small shed. I huddled down into a ball while fierce winds roared overhead. After a while, it stopped. I opened the door to the shed, smelling smoke. The air was filled with dust and smoke. I breathed in and started choking.

I looked towards the house and saw it burning. I ran towards it, screaming, "Mother! Get out!"

My father ran up, yelling, "No! Stay out of the house, Diana! I'll go get your mother out."

I stood there, biting my nails, waiting to see my parents. But, they never came out. Then, the house suddenly exploded. Debris and dust went flying. I ducked then screamed, falling to my knees, running my hands through my hair. Tears tracked their way down my cheeks. I sat there for, I don't even know how long. But, I finally stood up, brushing aside my hair, which was full of dust now. I looked around. The house and the farm, which I had just fixed, was completely destroyed. Most of the animals were dead, the surviving ones were covered in dust.

I knelt, hugging Bacon to me. He put his snout into my hand in a comforting sort of way. I stood back up when I heard sirens. The sheriff and fire brigade were pulling into the ruined yard. They stopped and hopped out of their cars. They ran over to me, shouting, "Diana! Are you okay? What happened!"

"I don't know," I sobbed. The fire chief came over and awkwardly gave my back a pat. I sniffled, wiping my nose. I glanced up at them, "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Well, honey. You know there is a depression going on. And now this catastrophe! Everybody's crops have been destoryed! Hopefully, it's over."

"But, what if it's not over yet? What is everybody going to do?"

"I don't know, but you're going to have to sell all of these animals to get money. Your parents had some unsettled debts, and you're going to have to pay them," the sheriff said.

"What?" I sniffed through my tears. "What debts?"

"Oh, just a few miscellanious things," the sheriff said. "Sort through the rubble and find what you can. I'll be back for the animals later. I'll pay for them."

I looked back at the smoking house, "Okay, as long as you don't take Bacon."

"Deal," the sheriff said, shaking my hand.