Driving up the dirt road toward her parents’ farmhouse, Erin was once again reminded her parents were truly gone. First, her dad died from a heart attack two years ago, then her mother in her sleep three month ago, now, she was now truly alone, with no one and nothing to keep her company except her job in the city and the cows and horses on her parents’ ranch, which now belonged to her.

Parking the car in the driveway, Erin gave the boxes in the back-seat a glimpse in the rear-view mirror before getting out of the car. With her parents leaving the ranch to her with instructions to never sell, she had no choice but to move back once her apartment lease was up.

Instead of entering the house, she stood in the driveway and gazed at the house, “What am I supposed to do with you?” She said and turned to gaze in the other direction. She was at the highest point of the property, on a clear day, she could see the miles of green fields on the ranch and in the distance, 80 acres of those green fields was now hers.

Shoving her hands in her coat pockets, Erin walked down the dirt path toward the farm and ranch. When she was a child, she used to run down this path, chasing her brothers in a game of tag or running to her mother’s warm greenhouse to spend dreary winter days playing hide and seek or the times when she played tic-tac-toe after a rainstorm, puddle jumping and getting her feet wet. She sighed at the happy childhood memories as they came flooding back. Happy times, she thought with a smile.

“Why me?” She asked the void, “Why not them?” Her brothers were always the ones doing the heavy lifting but now, there wasn’t anyone to help her with the heavy lifting.

Deep in her thoughts, Erin didn’t notice a truck was heading toward her. In a panic, she ran to the side of the road. When it passed her, the truck stopped and the driver got out. “Erin?” It was Todd, her high school crush, “What are you doing here?”

Potentially to be continued…

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