BAW Challenge Page | New Start - Part 2
River stared bleakly at the pile of bills on his grandfather's table. If only he'd known how much trouble the old man was really in... ? He paused, then shook his head. No. If he'd known, he would have never proposed to Raven, the girl he'd loved from afar for as long as he could remember. And he couldn't imagine his life without her sunshine in it. For a long moment, he sat there with a dopey smile on his face... then he again shook his head.
His whole life, he had assumed he would take over the reins, as it were, of his grandfather's farm. Mom had moved him to the city when he was young and his good-for-nothing father had abandoned them, but he had always known the country was where he belonged. Now... Mom was gone. And so was his grandfather. River squinted while looking out the dingy, cracked window at the dust storm brewing. This land was spent. There was nothing left here except a mounded pile of cascading debt.
What was he going to do now? Desolate and desperately thirsty, he walked back outside and hopped on his second-hand motorcycle. It was a long ride into what was considered "town" in these parts, but it was blessedly cool with the wind ruffling his hair, and the machine humming raggedly beneath him.
He paused at the town's one stop light... and glanced around. It didn't look like he was going to be holding up traffic by sitting here longer than he should, and he was at a loss of where to go. Finally, the choking dust at the back of his throat reminded him of why he'd ridden into town in the first place. Across the street, a blinking light showed a general store that was open for business. Perhaps they had something cool to drink.
River parked his bike, and wandered inside the dark store. A quick glance around showed ... well... pretty much nothing. There was an old man sleeping behind the register, and nothing that looked drinkable on the shelves. Then, finally, he noticed a vending machine at the back by the bathrooms and bulletin board. Digging into his pocket, he realized he still had a few coins left, and resolutely headed to buy a drink.
Finally, reluctantly, the old vending machine coughed up a dented and warm can of nondescript, generic soda. Looking at it wryly, River popped the top and took a sip. Yuck. But at least it was fluid. Hoping he wouldn't have to taste it if it went down quickly, River drained half the can, then something on the bulletin board caught his eye. Amongst the dusty, old papers with numbers hanging off of them was a bright, shiny, colorful flyer.
Immediately, River rolled his eyes. What a scam. Wrinkling his nose, River turned and walked away. He got halfway to the door before stopping. What if that flyer were true? What if he really could just get rid of his present debt, and start over in a pristine house like the one pictured. Slowly, he turned, his last coins barely enough to produce a jingle in his pocket. Reading the flyer again, he thought about asking the sleeping guy at the register if this flyer could be believed... but a snore from that direction made him change his mind. The number at the bottom of the flyer said it was toll-free. Maybe he could just call it and ask a few questions?
It didn't take long to find an ancient phone booth outside the door of the shop, and, thanking his lucky stars (if he still had any, that is...) that it worked, he punched in the number of the flyer he had walked away with.
Hours later, River pulled into the front yard of Raven's house back on the reservation. She ran out, knowing that the rattletrap sound had to be River's motorcycle, and threw herself into his arms.
"So? How was the farm?" she asked, unable to wait another minute.
"Dreary. Dusty. And very much a dead-end." River replied, dead-pan.
Stepping back, Raven looked at him in confusion. "But ... I thought?"
"Forget what you thought. There's nothing there for us." River said, cutting off the rest of whatever she was going to say. She started to say something, but he held up a hand. "However, if you're brave enough... I found a place where we can go."
"Brave?" she asked, even more confused. She glanced around at the sparse grass in the yard with a few chickens pecking at the dirt, looking for kernels of corn left over from their dinner. "River, I thought we were moving to your grand-dad's farm? What's that got to do with being brave?"
"The farm is even more in debt than your family's place is, Raven." River said bleakly, then handed her the crumpled flyer, cringing inwardly at the cheesiness of the messages sprawled across it. Before she could say anything, he continued, "I called that number. They're serious. We can lose all that debt, and start over in a just-built house out in the countryside. Apparently it's a deal for newlyweds, which we're half a step from being. The grant we'd start with is pitifully small... but it's a lot more than we have now, Raven. I think this is our only chance to make a go of it. I asked. They even have one property with enough room for a horse or two. Just like we always wanted. Granted, it'd be a while before we could afford to build the barn we'd need, and we'd need to help fund the beginnings of the town, but we could actually do this. We could have our own farm."
Raven started to reply, but River put a hand up. "Apparently this is the last spot of four they have open right now. They didn't tell me about the other three couples, but they did tell me that time is limited. We have to decide now - or lose this opportunity."
Nibbling at the edge of her lip, Raven waffled internally for a minute. How could this silly flyer be the break they had been hoping for? It had to be too good to be true. Unwilling to lose out on a life with River, however, she finally looked up and nodded. "Let's do it."
(Author's Note: Finally. I have something that's inspired me to write again. I'm hoping to use this new story to springboard me back into writing. At the very least, I've been able to dust off my keyboard with a few paragraphs. That being said... I will have more information on this new story coming very soon!)
BAW Challenge Page | New Start - Part 2
