Because People Need to Eat

A chilly gust of wind blows through the cracks of my small house, causing me to wake up from my sleep in an annoyed state. Noticing that it was a lot colder than usual, I sat up on my bed and looked out the window to see that it was snowing. Winter had arrived.

Despite all my doubts and self questioning, I had managed to set up a garden outside and keep a decent food supply going. Giving up was a lot harder than I wanted it to be, especially because I hadn’t been wanting to until recently.

After doing my morning routine and checking that the heater was working, I put on a winter coat and a pair of boots and walked outside to check on the status of my farm. I had planned ahead of time and had already set up makeshift coverings for my plants in preparation for the snow and colder temperatures of winter.

When I finally make it to the garden, I shake off the snow that had built up on the blanket coverings overnight before lifting a small corner of it and tapping my finger onto the soil.

It was frozen solid.

Huh…? I wondered, why?!

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“AHAHAHAHAHA!” Dahlia’s father lets out a loud roar of laughter, “so let me get this straight! You thought that the snow would damage the crops so you put a protective covering over them??? HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

I sat at the table of the Akitsuki household, staring at Dahlia’s father with a blank expression, as I tried to hide my embarrassment behind a deadpan face

“Honey, please stop laughing at our guest, neither of us knew better either when we first started farming,” Dahlia’s mother says as she enters the dining room with a large plate of blueberry pancakes.

“Haha! I’m sorry Lily, I just found it funny that you made the same exact mistake Mrs. Akitsuki and I both made when we were younger,” he apologized, his reddened face calming down, “but for future reference, the snow is actually beneficial for crops since it acts as an insulating barrier that protects the crops from the cold, and moisturizes the soil after it melts. For now though, you should stay on our farm until spring comes and I can come over to your house to get another farm started.”

Future reference…? I wonder, as if there’s going to be another winter…

“Don’t be too harsh on her,” Dahlia’s mother reprimands him before turning to me, “you can stay as long as you want as long as you’re willing to help out on the farm.”

She then sits down at the table and everyone begins to dig into the pancakes. As they’re eating however, Mr. Akizuki notices the saddened expression on my face.

“Is there something wrong Lily?” he asks.

I looked up from my plate, surprised at the sudden question.

“No, it’s just—” I stop myself. “...nevermind… I don’t want to ruin the mood.”

Mr. Akizuki’s fork clinks onto his plate as he stops eating.

“There’s no need to worry about that,” he assures me, “in this household, troubles are meant to be shared at the table—or really anywhere for that matter—but what’s important is that if you ever have a problem, there’s never a wrong time to let it be known.”

I silently bite my lip, still contemplating whether or not saying anything about the situation of the world would kill the mood. To me, the very mention of the end of the world felt taboo, especially in front of people who hadn't seemed to outright feel a sense of hopelessness just yet.

I look up at Dahlia’s parents once more, watching them stare back at me with anticipating eyes. They aren’t going to let this go aren’t they..? I realize, almost exactly like Dahlia…

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and admit, “it’s just that—while knowing that snow acts like a good insulator for crops is nice and all, I can’t help but feel that that information is useless because we won’t get to experience another winter again.”

Upon opening them, I see the two of them stare at me in an awkward silence as I think to myself, I knew this would happen… Why did I have to let my depressive self affect such good people like them? I should’ve just kept my mouth shut after all…

However, to my surprise, Mrs. Akizuki manages to speak up.

“Well… it’s not completely useless information,” she reasons, “you’ll still need it in the near future while you’re helping out on the farm.”

“That’s right,” Mr. Akizuki agrees, “I better not catch you covering up any crops that don’t need it or else you’re off the farm.”

He then pauses for a moment before bursting out into a hearty chuckle, “Hahaha! Ah, I’m just messin with you. The worst you’ll get is a little reprimanding but on a serious note, don’t actually do anything extra that we don’t ask you to.”

These two… their behavior is a bit odd but… not so different from Dahlia’s.

Sometimes it was hard for me to tell whether or not Dahlia was ignorant or just blissfully so. In the few years that I knew her, I couldn’t remember one bad news that Dahlia couldn’t salvage the good parts out of. It was either that or my bad memory speaking, but I came to a new understanding that such a trait was probably shared genetically.

Glad to see that such a depressing statement didn’t deter them, I became bold enough to ask them another question that came to my mind.

“If you don’t mind me asking, with everything becoming harder to do on the farm and with the end of the world approaching, why do the two of you continue to farm?”

Mr. Akizuki scratches his chin for a bit as I begin to worry that this time, the question was too personal to answer, but instead he just sighs and gives me a straight answer.

“Because people need to eat,” he replied—a phrase I could’ve sworn I heard before. “With most of the other farms along the mountain range giving up, it’s now more important than ever that I fulfill my duty as a farmer.” he continued, “after all, who’s going to give food to those who haven’t given up yet? Fortunately we still have two dedicated distributors that regularly make their stops here, so making sure that the food gets transported isn’t a lost cause just yet. Feeding the world has always been a dream of mine, and it was that shared dream that gifted me a beautiful wife, a charming daughter, and some wonderful friends. My dream hasn’t changed just because we lost a goddamn war that took my daughter away…”

As he finishes that sentence, his voice begins to crack a little; his iron wall of optimism beginning to falter as the reality of the situation slips into his mind. Still, he holds on firmly as he recomposes himself and clears his throat.

“Perhaps it’s just in my nature to help others or perhaps it’s because I don’t want to give up on my dreams so easily,” he continued, “but if you want the reason why I haven’t given up yet, it’s simply because I told myself I won’t.”