Harvest Time
Quirin smiled as he looked over their pumpkin patch. It had been a good bounty, more plentiful than usual, and other families were pitching in with the harvest. 9 yr old Varian was attempting, without success, to carry one of the pumpkins himself.
"Varian, do you need a hand?" Quirin asked.
"I-I've got it." Varian huffed.
Burt walked over and snatched the pumpkin from Varian's trembling hands. "Here, Quirin. Got another pumpkin for ya." Burt called out. He turned to Varian. "Better let someone bigger handle it, kid."
Burt's teenage son David strolled over, effortlessly carrying a pumpkin. "I've got another pumpkin, Dad." David bragged. He sneered at Varian. "Harvesting's really a job for big people. It's not for women or babies."
"Now, son, your mother and her friends do work, too. They'll turn these pumpkins into delicious pies." Burt pointed out.
"You're right, Dad. It's only babies who are useless." David opined.
Varian knew he wasn't really useless or a baby. He'd helped with the planting, and he tweaked their fertilizer's formula to have more nitrogen during the first weeks of growth which had made the pumpkins bigger than usual. But maybe that was a mistake, since he struggled to lift them now. He grunted and tried again to carry a pumpkin. It was really important to him that he succeed and be looked on as a capable farmhand.
"Varian." Quirin came over. He knelt down and put his hands on Varian's shoulders. "If this work is too heavy for you, then you can go inside." he offered.
"No, I can do it, Dad." Varian insisted. He sighed. Maybe next year he could install trellises, it worked for the smaller plants, and if the pumpkins were growing up higher he wouldn't have to bend so far down to pick them up and then carry them for so far a distance. But for this year, he'd have to manage on his own.
Varian selected another, slightly smaller pumpkin, and tried again to lift it.
"Why don't we lift it together?" Quirin suggested.
Varian bit his lip. Getting help from Quirin wasn't a bad idea, but it probably wasn't good enough to keep David from making fun of him, either. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything better at the moment. "...Okay, Dad." he said quietly.
Quirin reached down and helped Varian carry the pumpkin. "Gently now, we don't want to bruise it." Quirin instructed. They carted the pumpkin over to the wheelbarrow and set it inside.
"Teamwork! That's the way to do it!" Burt clapped Varian on the back roughly. "Your son's really growing up. Maybe next year, he'll do it by himself."
"And maybe next year, pigs will fly." David whispered tauntingly.
Varian chose to ignore him, and concentrate on the important things, like seeing Quirin smile as they worked together, bringing in the harvest.
The End
Varian, like most kids, just wants to be seen as helpful. And David, like most bullies, just wants to ruin his day. Fortunately Quirin appreciates Varian for making the attempt. And unfortunately, the adults still have not caught on to what a massive jerk David is.