Welcome To Monsanto Farms pt3

Dust blown around by the breeze got in my nose
Making me sneeze
I tried to shrink myself small as I sat eating lunch
To huddle as much of myself as I could in the shade
The shade inadequately provided by my broad brimmed hat

The sandwich I ate was decent enough
But my thoughts weren't on it
Not because of the conversation
No
Most of our group was tired
Too tired to have long conversations

Several people had already finished eating
And were laying down
Their hats over their faces
Trying to nap in the one hundred degree heat
Not a cloud in the sky to provide relief

I had other things on my mind
I wrapped my now empty lunch bundle back up
Drained my water cup
Water which was disappointingly warm
But it was wet
I was thankful for that

I stood up and stretched my legs
Trying to look innocent
Not that I was doing anything wrong
I just didn't want to look silly

Because what I was doing did verge on silliness

I pressed my hand briefly to my side
Feeling the book wrapped in Saran Wrap that was there
Then set off on my short mission
A multipart mission
Which so far had taken a week of my time

I walked quickly
As I had about a hundred yards to go today
Though I felt I had plenty of time until the distant whistle blew
Signaling us all to get back to work
I didn't want to spend my whole lunch walking either

Six days ago it had started
I'd found a book in a row of plants
It was George Orwell's "Animal Farm"
I'd seen it
Blinked several times
And looked again
But it was still there
Lying in the sparse shade under a strawberry plant's leaves

Worn and tattered
This copy of the book had seen some mileage
I assumed someone had dropped it
So I'd paused my picking long enough to pick it up
Open the front cover looking for a name
Finding none, I tucked it into my shirt

That night I'd asked around the housing
Even venturing out of our little compound into other units
But nobody had lost a book out in the fields
So I read it

It was marvelous

And making it even more interesting
Was the fact that someone had made notes in it
Mostly questions
Unanswered questions

So I had tried to answer some of them as best I could
Most of them were of the "What do you think of this idea?" variety
I'd written my thoughts next to the questions in the margins
Sometimes asking around the housing for other opinions
Sparking some interesting discussions along the way

When I was done with the book
I'd taken it back to the fields
Thinking that perhaps whomever had left it there
Had done so on purpose
Hoping to communicate in some way with me
Or someone like me

I'd left it right where I'd found it

The next day I looked again
But it was gone

I decided that I'd guessed right
That someone was doing this on purpose
And I looked again on the next two days at lunch
But nothing else presented itself

It was then that I'd had an inspiration
On the day off
I'd walked the mile or so into town
Detouring from my usual stop at the Post Office
Where I"d go every week to mail money home
I stopped at a used bookstore

I talked to the shopkeeper
I asked for something that might be a good follow up
After reading "Animal Farm"
Another Orwell book was recommended
"Coming Up For Air"

I bought it for a quarter

It was this book that was wrapped in the plastic wrap
Under my shirt as I walked

I reached the row I'd been looking for
Knowing it by the small arrangement of rocks I'd put there
Turning left I walked in fifty steps
Which is right about where I'd found the last book
And where I'd left it when I had finished with it

I took the new book out of my shirt
Unwrapping it gently and stuffing the plastic wrap in my pocket
My fingers fanned the pages briefly
Exposing notes in the margins
And questions
Things I'd written there when I'd taken the time to read it over the last few days

I figured that whomever was doing this
Might be game for more Orwellian thoughts
Might be interested in more interaction

I placed the book on the ground under the plants
Without looking back I walked back to my group
To finish the day in it's usual way
With increasing back pain
More blue baskets
More cups of water
Until the old green dusty flatbed truck came around to get us
Signalling that it was time to go back to the housing

As we all rode tiredly in the back of the truck
Bouncing gently with the suspension
Approaching that metal arched sign over the entrance to the farm
I thought about the book
I looked forward to checking tomorrow
Hoping to see it gone again
Hoping to get it back sometime soon
Hoping to see interesting things written in it again

The metal sign passed overhead as we drove under it
Marking our transition from the farm proper to the buffer area
The buffer area between the farm and the housing area
I looked up and back at the sign
Lit orangely from behind by the setting sun
Bidding it goodbye for another day

"Welcome to Monsanto Farms" it cheerfully said to me

I hung my head back down in fatigue
Staring at my dirty shoes
And the empty lunch sack between them
Letting my eyes close as I dozed half heartedly
To pass the time before we could get off the truck

Back at the farm
Past the cheerful welcome sign
Out in the fields of strawberriy plants
The book lay under the leaves
Golden orange sunset kissing everything in sight

A trio of green tendrils reached out
Wrapping themselves around the book
Pulling the book along the ground
Deeper into the area amidst the plants
All the leaves rustling along the row
Though there was now no breeze to move them

The last sliver of sun disappeared below the horizon
Monsanto Farms tucked in for the night
Quiet nighttime sounds fill the air

And if you walk down a certain row
In the experimental strawberry plant section of the farm
You can hear a soft familiar sound

The sound of pages turning