In The Fields

• Andrew Ding, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

“Thud! Thud!” went the axe in my hands as I slashed it into the stalks of corn, with beads of sweat dripping down my back. All around me, other farmers were doing the same thing under the summer sun’s hot rays, unwealthy and trying to make a living. Stalks were like tree stumps as our energy slowly depleted while we hacked at the vines with our blunt blades. Everyone was working hard in the corn field; everyone except for our manager, who only had to sit under the shade of an oak tree, watching and commanding us but doing nothing else while getting a much higher income.

“Why can he gain more money when all he does is resting while all of us have to do hard labour?” I thought, knowing that many others were wondering the same thing.

Just looking at the manager sent shivers down my spine. He was an evil, greedy pig who only cared about money while doing as little as possible. He always had a devilish grin on his face while he relaxed in the shade when it was burning hot. Always acting as if he was superior to everyone, no one dared to argue or look at him. Whenever an accident happens, he doesn’t bother to do anything, even when someone screams in pain when an axe falls on their feet.

One day the big boss announced that since our manager was careless, selfish, and greedy, he would hire a new manager who was respectful and pleasant, realising how much we loathed the current manager.

Everyone was as elated as they had ever been, feeling like they were daydreaming, living a life without such a disrespectful person, being comfortable and relaxed when they chopped the corn in the fields and having a manager who was responsible and kind towards them.

The next day, everyone exhilaratingly ran up to the new manager to greet him, relieved that their nightmare was finally over. Presents were given to him with cheeriness everywhere, and everyone started working their hardest with newfound energy.

Soon, under the everlasting relentless sun, beads of sweat started rolling down again, soaking the clothes as usual. Everyone was huffing and puffing, out of breath after hours of hacking through the long, tough stalks in the continuous maise. As I looked up, fields of endless corncobs were in front of me, the new manager was relaxing under the shade of the old oak tree, scrolling on his phone, and the big boss in the distance was driving away in his Ferrari for the holidays.