Jori looked up from the haystack in front of him, the sweat drenching his straw hat. His father waved from further in the field, behind his plow. Jori bent back down and pulled yet more hay from the stack with his pitchfork. Today was the end of the cycle, and he knew that his mama would have hot dumplings and drees weed for dinner. The last ten days of the week had really taken a toll on him, working on the farm every day after school and studying after all the chores were done.
He wiped his forehead and bent back to his work, determined to get the rest of the hay out of the stack and distributed on the farm yard for the threeps. As the second sun fell, the sky darkened and he could see something odd emerge from the dusk in the heavens. He pulled his hat back and gazed up at the new star with the long tail stretching across the sky. 'That's odd' he thought to himself.
The hay settled in disparate piles, sighing with the pleasure of release from the stifling haystack. Jori buried his pitchfork in the remainder of the stack and hitched up his dungarees as he walked towards the house, eyes cast at the heavens with its new, odd star.
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'Mama! The hay's done!' he called as he opened the creaky door, the bane of late night escapades with his friends, the school hooligans. Mama threw a smile at him from the wood stove, stirring the pot of dumplings while the smell of wild drees weed filled the house and tickled Jori's stomach with dreams of hunger banished.
'When school lets out, I was hoping to go to the lake with Dren and Fost, if that's.. ok?' he asked as he swung haphazardly onto his usual seat at the table.
'We'll see, sparkle.' Mama replied, while she started scooping out her scrumptious dumplings and portioning out some drees weed.
Jori realized belatedly how entirely famished he was. His stomach gurgled at him in reproach.
Just then, Papa swung into the room, the door bemoaning its fate and banging at his total disregard for its dignity.
'Saren, the field is almost plowed, but I haven't heard from Jaren on getting seeds. Did Lare come by today like she said she would?" he inquired as he popped some uncooked drees pods into his mouth from the little bowl Mama kept by the door for just this occasion.
