This chapter is a look into my life, just so you guys know. This unforturnate thing happened to us yesterday with our cow. We have the goats, and yes my chickens do jump on my shoulder. I live in the huon valley in Tasmania, Australia, where she lives.
So sorry if these first chapters are a little slow. I just need to get the story started before i can go into it. It shows her life, and how Edward thinks it weird. the next ones will stop getting so formal and will focus on Edward and Bella, i promise! Just stick with it!
EDWARD POV
I woke up the next morning very disoriented. I had rolled from a mattress to the floor, and was currently trying to snuggle up on the hard, over used, carpet floor. I rubbed my eyes and looked around the room, first staring at the ceiling with peeling paint.
Then i realised that i wasn't home. Australia.
I groaned, rolled my eyes and sat up, looking for that girl. Uh, what was her name? Stella? Kelly?
"Oh looky. Someone's finally awake to help."
I instantly remembered that voice, and her name. Bella. I looked up at her smirking in the doorway.
"My Mum sent me to see if you were awake yet." she explained, throwing random clothes at me. "These were my dad's. You might need them."
She left and closed the door, and i squinted a couple of times. Please disppear. Please, just dump me back in my room back in Britain. Please, please!
The door opened again and she slid her head in to make sure i wasn't getting changed. "And i'd hurry. The digger is going to be here soon, and you still need to help me take down the fence before they get here." she said then closed the door.
I had no idea what she was talking about. Taking down a fence? Digger? What the-
I decided to listen to her, even though she was being cruel about it, and got dressed into the clothes she gave me. They fit me perfectly, but when i looked in the mirror, i was starting to get scared about what type of work she was giving me. Old, torn jean that smelt of animals were placed on my hips, and a striped flannelet, red jumper was on my torso. I would fit in with the dress code, i guessed.
I was really hoping this look was nothing new.
I walked hesitantly down the stairs and found Renee working in the kitchen, which i saw, she was making some sort of soup.
She spotted me and smiled. "Well good afternoon, Edward, how was your sleep? I hope you didn't take Bella's words personally last night..." she trailed off.
I shook my head and smiled. "Of course not. Maybe i do need to touch up on my country life." i told her, mostly lying. My coutry life was perfectly in balance.
I walked over to her, not sure on where i was meant to be, and looked into the pot.
"Chicken soup?" i asked. There was no chicken in there yet, but the potato and other various ingredients were.
She grinned, confirming.
"So where's the chicken?"
She walked outside on the porch, err, deck, without a word, then came back in only fifteen seconds later, holding a chicken by the head, some feathers still attached to it, its head gone.
I thought i was going to throw up.
She laughed. "It's gotta come from somewhere, Edward. The store's chickens always have introduced hormones and other stuff like that in it. They are treated so cruelly. My family is against that, so we have our own chickens, free range."
The smell of the chicken was getting to me, so i put on a weak smile. She laughed again.
"I believe Bella is waiting-"
"God, it takes you long to get dressed." Bella said from the doorway leading outside. She looked at my face and laughed in amusement. She looked over to Renee. "Chicken?"
Renee laughed and nodded her head. Well, i was glad they were finding this funny....
Bella walked over to me and took my hand, not in a romantic way at all, but my heart still jumped. Or was that out of shock? Anyway, she led me outside and down into a paddock.
Chickens flocked around her immediately, avoiding me. She laughed, not flinched, when one jumped onto her shoulder from the ground. Man, those things can jump! It sat on her shoulder, squatting down as she walked, not moving.
We walked in old boots to the furthest paddock, right down the back. I saw a black thing lying on the ground as we past a baby cow, two goats, and a sheep. Well, i thought that was a sheep.
We walked down and she instructed me.
"The electric fence has been turned off, so these fences shouldn't zap you." she told me, smiling when she knew that she wasn't making me feel any better. We were about ten steps away from that black thing, what ever it was. "So you just have to take it out. There are two clutchers on each star picket, so you just twist the top and pop, it comes out." she demontrated.
We started at each ends of the fence, her near the black thing. These little suckers are hard to pull out. I had done two, one pole, when she had finished six. I ended up doing a total of five.
"So why are we doing this?" i asked her when we were done, her rolling up the orange electric tape and shoving it aside, so the whole fence was bared.
She rolled her eyes at me. "Look at that."
She gestured to the black thing. My eyebrows furrowed as i went to investigate. The closer i got to it, the more i was confused i was. When i finally figured out what it was, i was even more confused.
"Its a cow." i stated.
She smiled sadly, coming to stand next to me. She placed her hands on her hips, and i was silently pleased. She wasn't angry with me anymore, i realised, she just doubted i was fit out for this stuff. I would show her...
"Yes, it is." she said. "She got into the hay shed and ate too much. Poor thing got bloat. My parents were spending all yesterday trying to help her, but she died this morning."
I instantly stepped back from the animal. I was about to touch it...
"It's dead?!"
She nodded. "I told you. A digger is coming to dig her a grave. Honestly, we don't want her too rot, she'd stink. And there is no way we could dig a hole big enough to fit a four hundred kilo cow. Let alone push her in the hole. So we're getting the digger to do that."
I blinked at her in shock. The animal looked alive, but of course, the more i studied it, i realised it wasn't breathing.
In the other paddock, i heard the small cow moo.
She smiled sadly again. "And that was her son. Poor baby, he wouldn't leave her body until we forced it. Now he just sits by the gate crying to her."
I looked at her in shock. How could she be so came about this? There was a dead cow here, and the sad tale of her son....I couldn't stomach it.
"And your fine with that?" i asked. "You can just shove her in a hole without another thought?"
She shrugged. "what do you want me to do? I can only do my best for her son now. We cant bring her back."
I looked at her sadly and sighed.
She looked to the ground and sighed too. This was the moment i knew she wasn't heartless.
"I deal with this everyday, Edward. Things die. It's life. If you're not up to that, then we can walk away and let them do their thing. I'm not going to force you too watch them dig a gave and put her in it. I'm not a bitch."
I looked to her to see if she was just pushing my buttons, but she looked sinceir.
I sighed. "That's horrible." i told her as i started to walk away, catching one last glimpse of the cow before she disappeared out of sight.
At the gate we were greeted with the goats.
She laughed as we pushed our way through the gate, trying to dodge the cow, like she said, that was standing by the gate.
"This is Sis and Bub. Don't blame me for the names, they just stuck after Mum suggested them." she pointed to the goats.
I laughed and patted them ."they're pushy." i noted.
She nodded. The goats wore pink collars around their necks.
She walked into the shed and pulled out three buckets. She handed me one.
"That's for the chickens." she told me and told me to spread it on the floor.
I handed her back the bucket and we went over to a shed. Hay was laid everywhere.
The goats immediately went to stand in seperate corners of the shed, next to leashes.
"Go strap them up." she instructed me.
I looked at her questionably and she laughed.
"Attach the leash to the collar."
I did as she instructed, and the baby goat Bub was fine, but the other scooted away from me.
Bella sighed, smiling and grabbed the goat by its horns and pulled it in place where i attached the leash.
"That's kind of cruel."
She laughed.
"Sometimes you need to be for animals to respect you." she said, and i knew she was right. Every animal here hated me, but loved her. They knew she was the boss, but she was more like the mother.
And i could see why everyone liked Bella around here, and not just animals.
