The Good Farm Girl

The vast open space of the American Midwest is no place for car trouble. Henry was pushing hard driving eighteen hours a day. He wanted to get home and home was another hard day’s drive. Then the car started to miss a beat every few minutes. An hour later Henry was stalled in the middle of nowhere. He saw no other traffic all day. He had water in the car but no food. He checked his cell phone. No signal. Without any alternatives Henry started walking.

With only an hour of walking Henry spotted a small farm to the west. There was no choice. All he could hope for was somebody to be home. The farm was small with a white clapboard house and red barn. Cows were in a fenced area near the barn and chickens ran the yard. Fields of crops surrounded the house and barn. Henry knocked. Henry was ready to leave after a long period with no answer when the door slowly opened. A beautiful farm girl greeted him. Henry introduced himself and explained his situation.  The farm girl did not have a phone. She offered Henry a place to stay until someone happened by to give him a ride to town. Henry accepted.

To repay the woman’s kindness Henry worked on the farm. He could not understand how one woman could run this whole farm alone. On the second day the woman visited Henry as he worked in the barn. She had a mischievous grin. “Come with me,” she said. She led Henry to a locked room in the back of the barn. Inside was a chair. “Please sit.” Henry did. In moments Henry was stuck to the chair as it hummed. His body twisted and contorted until he was completely transformed. When the machine stopped Henry was a woman. The woman handed Henry appropriate clothing. He put them on. The straw hat was a fitting touch. “You are one of us now and your name is Addison,” the woman said. “Us? Addison?” “Yes. Us, Addison.” Several women walked out from an attached room. Now Henry understood how the woman ran her farm. “You can stay as long as you like,” the woman said.