Fate

• Annabelle Mainey, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2011

13th May, 2011
Dear Diary,
My name is Charlie. I am a year old bull, quite handsome if I say so myself. However, I have just heard some extremely disturbing news regarding my potential future. I am in Jeopardy!
You see, I was just romping with Angus, eating grass and chasing the attractive gals in our paddock, (Wow, they are hot?…) When I heard the old gossips in the next paddock sigh in unison, “It’s a real shame, a real shame. I shall miss them terribly?.”
As I am a young bull, full of curiosity, I wiggled my ears and strained to hear the rest of their conversation. I mean, it sounded important. Have you ever heard the saying ‘Curiosity killed the calf’? Well it could literally be true in my case!
The rest of the conversation went something like this;
Heifer 1; Don’t you hate to see them so happy yet so oblivious to their fate.
Heifer 2; I do. It really saddens and frustrates me.
Heifer 1; I ask you, why does it have to happen to them? It didn’t happen to us.
Heifer 2; That’s because we are heifers, silly, WE are useful for making babies and getting milked.
Heifer 1; Oh… Still. It really frustrates me. They are loaded into the truck one afternoon, happy and ready for an adventure. But they never return alive. All we see year after year is a brown box bearing the pitiful label ‘veal’.
Heifer 2; I am going to miss this group. Their handsome, young naïve faces, gleaning in the morning sun, is quite a sight to see.
Heifer 1; It’s a real pity the farmer doesn’t care about that. It makes me so mad.
Heifer 2; That’ true. All he cares about is his belly, pieces funny rectangular shaped green paper and those annoying squealing machines he is raising.
Heifer 2; What a sad, sad existence. It is such a waste of Potential and youth.
Heifer 1; Yeah, it is that?.
Then they trotted away, seeming to forget about the whole conversation.
All this time, I was getting more and more concerned. What did all of this mean? All the phrases were having a party in my head and I was getting more concerned and confused every time I tried to figure them out. ’ They never return alive’, ‘a brown box bearing the pitiful label ‘veal’, ’oblivious to their fate’. What IS my fate? My breathing became shallow and I began hyperventilating. What is going to ppen to us? To me? Please help me.
I want to be Charlie. NOT veal. What about the guys? I am scared out of my wits. What’s going to happen? I’m so… So young. Help. I beg you. Help me stay CHARLIE!
Love Charlie
Ps. I hope I’m still Charlie.
PPS. I AND GUS ARE HOSTING A PROTEST TOMMORROW. “CATTLE ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD!”