Heaven Tastes Like Peaches

The sky was pouring heat, but it was not new for Sławek to work in the bright rays of the sun. He has been helping neighbors in the field work since he moved out of town. Thanks to this, he could earn some money for his youthful expenses. He was hot, of course, but he knew the job had to be done before the rain ruined everything. This was life in the countryside.

He was now standing on a wide wooden cart into which the bundles of straw were thrown one by one. They weren't heavy, but when he had to stack them high, they took their toll. In addition, the tractor, driving on an uneven field, jerked time and time again, making it difficult for him to keep balance. The pace was fast, but the prevailing heat, rushing darker and darker clouds and not so distant sounds of thunder made him subconsciously want to accelerate even more.

It was not the rain itself, but a thunderstorm. For a few days it was unbearably hot, and everyone expected storms to come. You didn't have to listen to the weather forecasts to know. The electricity in the air spoke for itself. Even Sławek felt it with every cell - this strange excitement and tension related to the impending violent element. Breathing hard, he looked over his shoulder at the forest over which lightning had just appeared. This moment was enough to plant anxiety in his heart - will they manage to make it?

It could be tough, he decided as he placed the last packages on the cart. More just won't fit.

"Okay!" Bartek waved his hand to the youngest sister driving the tractor.

Inga stopped the tractor and jumped out of it, making room for her brother. The girl was thirteen and the last of five siblings, but only she and the eldest son were now available to work in the fields. The three middle siblings have worked on their careers. They had no time or desire to take the day off and help their brother with the harvest. The packages were too heavy for Inga, but she helped as much as she could, for example by driving a tractor in the field. She looked back at Sławek jumping off the cart, then at Konrad wandering on the dirt road and ran towards the buildings.

"I do not understand why you are so tired in the sun" Skalski announced as soon as Sławek was a few steps away from him. At that time Domejczuk looked at the work of his hands, praying that the car, loaded in a hurry, would reach its destination without any adventures. "I'm tired of just looking. After the rain, it will be nicer."

"It will" admitted Sławek and with his eyes assessed the number of packages left in the field. A quarter, maybe a third of the car. "Only when the packages get wet, they rot," he explained. "If the straw was on the rollers, it would be different. The rain will pass through it and the rest will be blown by the wind. The packages are so tight that they won't dry out. You will have to untangle them, spread them and pack them again, and when it starts to rain, the weather usually lasts for a few days. So even with pre-drying, such straw is usually not even suitable for bedding."

Konrad seemed to be trying to understand, but not quite able. Sławek wondered at him only for a second, until he remembered that when he himself first landed in the countryside, he was unable to understand at least half of the local customs. Only with time did he realize that eight hours of specific shifts were not worked in the countryside and that was it. You worked here 24/7 and the working time was determined by nature. Such a cow, for example, did not care that it was two in the morning and the farmer wanted to sleep. When the time came, she just calved.

"We don't have much left," Domejczuk announced with a sigh of relief. "If you want, you can go home.'

"No, I'll stay until the end. How is it that I fall off my feet without doing anything, and you still have the strength to arrange the third cart?"

Slawek shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm from the country," he explained.

"Really? I thought you moved here."

"Yes, three years ago. Almost four. But I already got used to it. It's not like I'm not tired. I just know that this job needs to be done as soon as possible and it gives me energy. And I know that when we're done, it'll be over until the next harvest."

"On the wagon it's a job for one. In a neighbor, this is different, but it will not be so high that Bartek will not throw in. Anyway, their neighbors are wide, but shallow, so you don't need an extra person."

Perhaps he would be useful, Sławek thought, but at such a pace an inexperienced townsperson will not be able to cope and will only be a hindrance. In addition, he will destroy his branded sports shoes, which probably cost quite a few hundred zlotys. And who would pay for this damage? Even so, cleaning them will be a drama, because despite the warnings, Skalski wandered a little in the field and then around the barn, so the chaff and dust settled nicely on the white skin. Only jeans, sweaty and dirty, can be washed easily, after all, they were originally designed for work in the countryside.

They entered the yard right behind the tractor, which, due to its age and load, did not even pretend to be a high-speed vehicle. Inga came running bringing them water bottles and disappeared as soon as they took them. They were cool so they felt refreshed. But there was no time to rest, not even to sit down for a moment. The cart was already on the threshing floor and Sławek started climbing the ladder to the neighbor.

The loading and unloading of the car was quite quick, just over twenty minutes each. This time, although they were tired, because it was the third transport, the darker sky and louder thunder made them unroll even faster. The tractor pulled out an empty wagon to turn around and go for the last batch of straw. Konrad entered the barn.

"It's getting high," he noted. Sławek, all red with effort and sun, smiled down at him.

"It's still nothing," he announced, heading for the rungs of the ladder. "As the grain was in sheaves, it reached the top. At least that's what my grandfather said, because I don't remember it."

Two rungs had been swiftly descended when a thunderclap sounded above their heads and the sheet metal rumbled with rain."

"Come on…!"

"Watch out!" Konrad called, running up.

Everything happened instantly.

At the moment of thunder, Sławek looked at the yard and the ladder moved a few steps and when he put his foot on the next rung, it lost its stability even more. Domejczuk began to slide down with her. Skalski ran to hold her down, but it was too late. Caused by gravity, with no support in the slippery straw base, she fell with Sławek down - straight onto Konrad, who was supporting her. They both fell on the threshing floor, on the pile of straw from the untied packages. Luckily the landing was soft, but they both felt the impact. Skalski groaned and shook his head. Then he saw Slawek's face above him, from a very close distance.

His eyes were like two blue skies on the most beautiful summer day. Bright and deep, shadowless clouds, as if they wanted to engulf it with their color. They blinked in surprise, as if surprised that they could be so close to someone else. Konrad felt the heat of his friend's body on him, warmed by effort and heat. He could feel his maddened heart beating, working hard to support his tired body. He could see his deeply flushed face, which was so close it was almost touching his. And he felt the pressure of something swelling growing on his hip...