Categories > Original > Humor > So the Story Goes
Navi sighed heavily as she collapsed into a puke-green armchair in front of a roaring fire. As exhausted as she was, Navi didn't mind the color for once, because the ugly thing was damn comfy at the moment. Her eyes closed in pure ecstasy as the warmth from the fire washed over her. She leaned her head back into the rough fabric of the sofa, let the heat immerse her in calming relaxation, and stretched her feet towards the crackling fireplace. From the other room, a door opening and closing echoed through the empty house, breaking the silence Navi had sunk into thankfully.
Navi's eyes slid open as clunking boots hit the wooden floor of the small farmhouse. Faas, the farmer's son had finally come inside after finishing up his chores. She tilted her head to the doorway, just as he stepped into the room, dark hair scraggly and filled with grass and mud. He, too, sighed greatly and fell into a chair beside Navi and kicked off his boots as he made himself comfortable in the seat. Navi looked just as bad as he did. Her pants were muddy and covered with grass stains and her hair was a tangled mess of twigs, dirt, and leaves. Her arms and face were both streaked brown with mud.
Navi had been staying with the family of farmers while she studied abroad in Scandinavia; the family kept her in their house with free room and board, so long as she completed a few chores here and there. Really, the entire experience was like staying with a bunch of modern day Vikings. In fact, the father was even away, supposedly on "business". Navi was disturbed by this. Of course, Navi rather enjoyed the three that did accommodate her stay in Scandinavia. Saffi, the farmer's wife, was a tidy woman and provided plenty of advice for Navi, such as how to sew, when to keep your mouth shut, and the best way to preserve your fruit. Her son, Faas, and daughter, Signa, were quite fun to be around as well. In fact, Faas and she were similar in ages, Faas being just a year younger than Navi and the two tended spend time together whenever Navi wasn't completing school work.
This being so, the two had decided to do their chores together and both of their haggard features was the result of the last couple of hours. Navi groaned to even think of it. The entire mess had started with a simple run through of the farm's chores. One of the bulls on the farm had gotten sick, and it was their job to round him up to diagnose the illness and administer treatment. This was easier said than done. First, they had attempted to bridle the damn thing, but the young bull would not submit and eventually what began as a simple harnessing and check-up on the animal turned into a twisted kind of hoe-down with the bull. He led the pair around the yard on a near wild goose chase. What was worse was that it had rained the night before, causing the ground to become loose and muddy; Faas and Navi had slipped and slided around the yard, falling often and making little progress. Finally, just when there had seemed to be no hope in capturing the stubborn animal, the pair had caught him with a clever use of trip wire and a totem pole. The two had then moved the bull into the barn where Faas had proceeded to place long, white rubber gloves onto his hands and applied sesame oil all the way up to his elbows, something Navi hadn't understood until Faas had maneuvered himself behind the bull and began to probe the bull's anus. As it turned out, the bull had caught something that had apparently become a recent outbreak. By the end of it all, the two were worn-out and filthy and that was the meat and potatoes of that.
Thus, Navi now sat before the hot flames to defrost her bones that were chilled from all the time out in the cold weather. A moan from the seat next to her drew her attention to Faas. He was facing her, but his dark brown eyes were unfocused and his mouth was hanging open as if he were a drowned man. Not very attractive, really. The front door opened again and the two looked up to see Signa trooping into the room, heavy clothes draped over her shoulders. Saffi could be heard moving about the kitchen now, no doubt starting on dinner. Signa looked surprised at the state of the two other residents of the house. She and her mother had been out at the market, buying supplies for the next week; neither she nor her mother had seen the struggle between Navi and Faas and the obstinate bull.
Signa stood staring at the two from the doorway, while Navi and Faas stared back tiredly. Signa brushed back her hair that was about a shade lighter than Faas' and swept it behind her pointed ears. She ears were about as pointed as an elf's and she was just about short enough to work at the North Pole. At least, Navi thought so. The three of them remained silent until Saffi suddenly came striding into the room. She coughed loudly, focusing all attention on her. One look at Navi and Faas and she was yelling. She demanded the two change their clothes and clean themselves up before supper was ready. The pair immediately did as commanded.
Half an hour later and the four were sitting around the dark wooden table and eating a meal that tasted mostly of ginger. Frankly, Navi missed her own family's gelato. It was strange how she got homesick over the simplest of things. She surmised it was because of her simplistic form of mind when it came to material items. She took pleasure in the small stuff and that was probably why sitting around the dinner table brought back memories of her cousins and such. In fact, she hadn't even left them that long. She had been away for much longer before, nearly three years in fact, so this was truly nothing. Stupid ginger-flavored food, making her think of things. Stupid bull, killing her brain. Stupid... stupidness.
After the dinner, Saffi had retired to put yeast into several barrels in the cellar. Navi was pretty sure she was making home-made beer. Faas and Signa remained at the table, playing some kind of game Navi didn't feel like learning at the moment. It involved a lot of hand movements and fast talking and Navi was pretty sure she heard the word "eunuch" in there somewhere. She really didn't want to know. Slowly, she retreated to her room that she shared with the youngest of the house, Signa. Navi gratefully snuggled into the fuzzy blanket supplied for her. She was so tired after that day, she was afraid she'd miss her class the next morning. God, she hoped not; if she did, she'd need to have a conference with the professor and he scared the crap out of her. He'd probably give her a rejection slip rather than an actual grade if she happened to piss him off.
Navi shuddered at the thought. She buried herself under the multitude of blankets on her bed and began to drift to sleep. Next time she decided to study abroad, she'd try to find somewhere more exciting, maybe El Salvador or even the Andes. Yeah, Navi thought, somewhere where she wouldn't help the family farm. Definitely. Then she was asleep, in the land of slumber.
Navi's eyes slid open as clunking boots hit the wooden floor of the small farmhouse. Faas, the farmer's son had finally come inside after finishing up his chores. She tilted her head to the doorway, just as he stepped into the room, dark hair scraggly and filled with grass and mud. He, too, sighed greatly and fell into a chair beside Navi and kicked off his boots as he made himself comfortable in the seat. Navi looked just as bad as he did. Her pants were muddy and covered with grass stains and her hair was a tangled mess of twigs, dirt, and leaves. Her arms and face were both streaked brown with mud.
Navi had been staying with the family of farmers while she studied abroad in Scandinavia; the family kept her in their house with free room and board, so long as she completed a few chores here and there. Really, the entire experience was like staying with a bunch of modern day Vikings. In fact, the father was even away, supposedly on "business". Navi was disturbed by this. Of course, Navi rather enjoyed the three that did accommodate her stay in Scandinavia. Saffi, the farmer's wife, was a tidy woman and provided plenty of advice for Navi, such as how to sew, when to keep your mouth shut, and the best way to preserve your fruit. Her son, Faas, and daughter, Signa, were quite fun to be around as well. In fact, Faas and she were similar in ages, Faas being just a year younger than Navi and the two tended spend time together whenever Navi wasn't completing school work.
This being so, the two had decided to do their chores together and both of their haggard features was the result of the last couple of hours. Navi groaned to even think of it. The entire mess had started with a simple run through of the farm's chores. One of the bulls on the farm had gotten sick, and it was their job to round him up to diagnose the illness and administer treatment. This was easier said than done. First, they had attempted to bridle the damn thing, but the young bull would not submit and eventually what began as a simple harnessing and check-up on the animal turned into a twisted kind of hoe-down with the bull. He led the pair around the yard on a near wild goose chase. What was worse was that it had rained the night before, causing the ground to become loose and muddy; Faas and Navi had slipped and slided around the yard, falling often and making little progress. Finally, just when there had seemed to be no hope in capturing the stubborn animal, the pair had caught him with a clever use of trip wire and a totem pole. The two had then moved the bull into the barn where Faas had proceeded to place long, white rubber gloves onto his hands and applied sesame oil all the way up to his elbows, something Navi hadn't understood until Faas had maneuvered himself behind the bull and began to probe the bull's anus. As it turned out, the bull had caught something that had apparently become a recent outbreak. By the end of it all, the two were worn-out and filthy and that was the meat and potatoes of that.
Thus, Navi now sat before the hot flames to defrost her bones that were chilled from all the time out in the cold weather. A moan from the seat next to her drew her attention to Faas. He was facing her, but his dark brown eyes were unfocused and his mouth was hanging open as if he were a drowned man. Not very attractive, really. The front door opened again and the two looked up to see Signa trooping into the room, heavy clothes draped over her shoulders. Saffi could be heard moving about the kitchen now, no doubt starting on dinner. Signa looked surprised at the state of the two other residents of the house. She and her mother had been out at the market, buying supplies for the next week; neither she nor her mother had seen the struggle between Navi and Faas and the obstinate bull.
Signa stood staring at the two from the doorway, while Navi and Faas stared back tiredly. Signa brushed back her hair that was about a shade lighter than Faas' and swept it behind her pointed ears. She ears were about as pointed as an elf's and she was just about short enough to work at the North Pole. At least, Navi thought so. The three of them remained silent until Saffi suddenly came striding into the room. She coughed loudly, focusing all attention on her. One look at Navi and Faas and she was yelling. She demanded the two change their clothes and clean themselves up before supper was ready. The pair immediately did as commanded.
Half an hour later and the four were sitting around the dark wooden table and eating a meal that tasted mostly of ginger. Frankly, Navi missed her own family's gelato. It was strange how she got homesick over the simplest of things. She surmised it was because of her simplistic form of mind when it came to material items. She took pleasure in the small stuff and that was probably why sitting around the dinner table brought back memories of her cousins and such. In fact, she hadn't even left them that long. She had been away for much longer before, nearly three years in fact, so this was truly nothing. Stupid ginger-flavored food, making her think of things. Stupid bull, killing her brain. Stupid... stupidness.
After the dinner, Saffi had retired to put yeast into several barrels in the cellar. Navi was pretty sure she was making home-made beer. Faas and Signa remained at the table, playing some kind of game Navi didn't feel like learning at the moment. It involved a lot of hand movements and fast talking and Navi was pretty sure she heard the word "eunuch" in there somewhere. She really didn't want to know. Slowly, she retreated to her room that she shared with the youngest of the house, Signa. Navi gratefully snuggled into the fuzzy blanket supplied for her. She was so tired after that day, she was afraid she'd miss her class the next morning. God, she hoped not; if she did, she'd need to have a conference with the professor and he scared the crap out of her. He'd probably give her a rejection slip rather than an actual grade if she happened to piss him off.
Navi shuddered at the thought. She buried herself under the multitude of blankets on her bed and began to drift to sleep. Next time she decided to study abroad, she'd try to find somewhere more exciting, maybe El Salvador or even the Andes. Yeah, Navi thought, somewhere where she wouldn't help the family farm. Definitely. Then she was asleep, in the land of slumber.
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