Snow shoes. If only he had a pair of snow shoes to dredge through all this snow. The farmer looked back from where he was. The blizzard was over, leaving a couple of good inches of thick snow to cover all of the land. He sighed at the sluggish trail he had left behind. His boots were thankfully waterproof but his nose was already turning red. Lifting the red bandana to cover half his face he opened the gate to the farm forcibly making his way into town.
The streets of the small town laid empty. Most knew that it was too cold to go outside. The young man however took his cap off to let his head breathe for a moment and walked into a store. Animal feed lined the walls but what he was looking for laid behind the counter.
"How is that cow letting up?" The shopkeeper chimmed as the man took off the red bandana.
"Not well. The medicine hasn't been showing any signs of improvement."
The other man shook his head.
"That's a disappointment. All I would advice is to just let her rest and see then."
"You don't have anything stronger?" The man pleaded.
"Unless you want to poison her, it is up to the goddess now."
Frustrated the farmer left the store. He walked to the center of town and sat on a vacant old bench. His hands fisted into his hair below his blue cap. The animal was the only creature left from before when the farm was owned by his grandfather. Losing the animal would mean that he had failed as a farmer, that he had failed his grandfather. It was only the first year, he couldn't just lose this animal as a lesson. He got up and walked into the centuries old church. The place was more glamorous than needed for such a small town, its vaulted ceiling gave the illusion of something greater present. Sighing, he took a seat on one of the many pews that were available. He wasn't a very religious man but it wouldn't hurt to start a prayer. Not long after he began he felt the presence of someone else in the room.
The young woman was in charge of the church, always offering fortune and help in prayer. He gazed up to meet her hoping he wasn't that much of a mess from being out in the cold for so long.
"Jack welcome. Is there anything you need help?" She asked courteously.
"Yes..I mean no. I don't think anyone can really help."
"It's alright Jack. There's always a solution to most things."
"I don't think there's a solution for this Maria."
"What is it about?"
"One of my cows...she got a bad illness that is making her weaker each day."
The woman gave a worried look and took a seat beside him.
"Listen Jack you gotta have faith..only the goddess knows if she will be well or not."
"I know."
"You can also care for her more tenderly so that the animal knows that you'll be there for her, no matter what happens."
"I know Maria!" He gets up exasperated, anger coming back at him.
He leaves the church and storms back into his barn. The old cow laid sleeping weakly in a corner.
"Hey girl. How's it going?"
A weak moo replies back to him as he brushed her old back. He reflected back on what the priestess advised and with a soft sigh decided it was his best choice to follow.
Hoping that he would be heard, he visited the old church through sleet and snow. In the day he would take care of the sickly cow and in the evening he would show up in the dead of night. He repeated this for a week ,till he fell over with a fever inside his house.
It was the young priestess who found him and summoned the doctor from a neighboring town. He took his pulse and left the subconscious farmer to rest in bed. Jack woke up to find himself back in his room except it was brighter and clearer outside, no snow present. Someone was cooking across from him in the old stove top.
"Good morning." The warm voice called.
"Grandfather?! What are you doing here?" The man found himself on the verge of crying. This couldn't be real, the man had passed.
"Hey now, it's okay. Shhh." He passed him a plate as he sat down on the old kitchen chair. The food looked as real as it can be , taking a bite he felt nostalgia.
"How's the farm going?"
"The farm..your cow is going to die and it's all my fault." He glanced down in shame. There was no way the cow or any animal could survive now without him.
"It's okay Jack. You've done all you've can to save her and she's lived a full life."
"It's not her time yet grandfather! She can live a few more years if I had just taken better care of her!"
"Better care till you've exhausted your own body?"
The man stayed silent as his grandfather took the empty plate of food and placed it on the stove. He felt a familiar worn but warm hand go to his shoulder.
"You're doing a grand job Jack. I know you can make the farm something more than when I was there."
He woke up in a daze.
The calendar marked the 30th. He had been asleep for three days. In a panic he got up to meet his starving animals, only to find them outside enjoying the sun. His grandfather's cow as cheerful as the day he first saw her.