AN UNFAIR SIDE OF LOVE

hand, slowly melting into the churned mud, But it was the cornfield that knocked the air from his lungs. Just yesterday, tall green stalks had stretched in proud rows. Now it looked like a monster

de the night before. He sat there now, still soaked, staring at a pile of bills like they'd personally punched him i

der the drips. Her eyes were red and raw, flicking from the ruined field to her husband, and back agai

orked through droughts, failed harvests, broken machines and broken bones-he was gone. All that was left was a man staring at

acked, smashed, its white juice leaking out. Eight months of sweat and sleepless nights, gone. The loan due in three weeks? That was laughable now. The money he'd stashed from odd jobs, meant for Sharon

is arm. He flinche

in. Then she wrapped her arms around him, it wasn't soft, not shaky, just steady and sure. He leaned into her without thinking, and pressed his face into her hair. It st

round him felt like the last t

" he said. His

folks, not this land." She nodded toward the mess. "It's bad, Ken,

back didn't survive the hail either." He couldn't even take a g

tractor. "That still works, right? We start with that. We clear what we can, W

in the face of all these kicked something

fear. "Alright, Let's see

ken stalks, trying to make sense of the wreckage. Sharon worked beside him, raking, clearing, boarding up the window, making coffee no one drank. Tom stayed at

g left but scars. The house was patched, barely. Ken sat on the porch steps, coated in sweat a

her physics textbook, not to study, but to dig out the papers

e deductible's brutal, and the payout's based on what the crop could've

his head back against the post. T

e the farm

e didn't sound convinced. "Maybe the bank giv

's been circling this place since the drought two y

ain. Her finger stopped on a

. Pa borrowed from him last fall to fix the combine. H

where

up failing farms." Ken remembered the tattoos on the man's knuckles,

pale. "What

doesn't invol

reams used to live. The oak tree stood tall, same as always, but everything else h

futures or kids. They just sat, cl

point," Ken whispered. "He's gone. Ma's hanging by

straight in the eye and said, "You breathe, Ken. One breath at a time, one bolt at a time, you fight, bec

raw and sharp. She pulled him in, holding him while the storm inside finally tore loose

steady, her own tears

strong. The kiss they shared under the stars had been about dreams. This

ipped together, watching the first stars

the chest. Helen stood in the kitchen, she was looking pale and shaking. H

him stood

too polished for the mud outside, and his knuckles were tattooed. His eyes were small and sha

id. "Heard the farm t

like he'd b

. "Mr. Metzger... the field

paper. "Timing's rough, I get it. But that

. "We need time. We

e is between you and whoever. I care about what's mine, wi

lease, there's nothi

payment, If not, well..." He looked around the room. His ey

. "Just a few mon

ee you Tuesday, Tom. Don'

'd just confirmed the weather, l

Tom stood frozen, shaking. Ken stared at the paper on the table and felt the cold g

torm had j