D. Zink

Issue 16

Flash Fiction

Rising at dawn, her first task was her morning cup of coffee. She ground the beans, put in a new filter and began scooping: one, two, three, four—and a little more for good measure. She boiled the water until it was in a rage and poured it into the filter. She liked her coffee hard-boiled, like she liked her men.

The tractor needed oil, and the cows needed hay. The lawn needed to be mowed, and for a moment she thought about putting cows on the lawn. Efficiency was her mainstream.

The old cows would need to be loaded to take to the auction. It is one of the hard parts of running the farm. There is nothing like the bewildered look on an old cow who has been loaded onto a trailer, having spent her full lifetime on the farm. But if she thought about it, and felt it, efficiency would come to a sudden halt. There was too much to do, and there were too many others to look after.

The sun was above the horizon, and the day would soon be heating.