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Confederate States of Australia – Tractor Pull

July 23rd, 2008 - 9:44am

     “Can we open another tin, Yakov?  I’m still hungry.”
     “Evan, we have to ration now.”  Yakov had been unable to shake his lethargy for weeks.  He underestimate the physical effort required to transform an overgrown patch of land into a farm.  Spirits were still high, but goodwill and promises only went so far.  In their time at Eden, they had nearly exhausted their supplies and grown nothing.  The blackberry bushes had long been picked clean.  Despite the difficulty working the land, Yakov enjoyed life at Eden.  He dared not tell the others this was not the place sought but instead continued with his lie: The previous occupants must have abandoned the farm; the journal was left for him.  The lie had been eagerly accepted by all; whether they knew the truth was unclear.

     In their haste to begin planting, investigations of the large shed near the homestead had been neglected.  A cursory inspection had found nothing but rusted machinery which Yakov supposed was for farming but otherwise ignored.  On Pietra’s advice, Yakov took a group of boys to investigate the machinery.  Yakov had dismissed her suggestion, but when Pietra put her hands on her hips and stamped her foot he knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer twice.  Yakov looked over the machines with a close eye and tried to understand each machine’s purpose.  He knew Pietra would be smart when she grew older; probably already was smarter than him, Yakov thought, but machines were his specialty and after careful consideration he ordered the other boys to pull a small tractor from the shed.  They dubbed the tractor ‘Daisy’ after the only flower they knew.  Yakov began to repair the machine immediately; he worked from dawn until dusk every day, leaving Evan and Pietra in charge.

     Repairs of the tractor were interrupted one sunny morning when Yakov heard yelps of excitement from some of the children.  On investigation, he saw all had gathered to meet a visitor.  One of those who had abandoned their group early on had, instead of wandering home, stumbled upon Eden!  The children celebrated Abdul’s arrival into the early hours of the morning; their parents would have disapproved.

     Yakov resumed work early next afternoon, eager to complete his time consuming project; the tractor was close to functioning, he knew it was only a matter of time.  Sitting in the driver’s seat, Yakov impusively leaned over to connect a loose wire.  His impatience, brought on from the previous night’s festivities had dulled his senses; he noticed the tractor tipping too late.  Legs crushed beneath the beast, Yakov passed out.

* * *

     Thanks to Pietra’s splint, Yakov became mobile earlier than she had expected.  She said it had probably been a fracture since his legs weren’t swinging forwards, but it still hurt to walk and Yakov had taken to staying indoors for long periods.  Abdul came to visit Yakov as sat in his room, alone.  “Yakov, ” he started, “I have something I need to tell you.”

Tags: confederate states of australia, part 7