Snowy White

Flash Fiction Theme – Pumpkins – Theme by: Cara Gordon

A blanket of leaves covers the ground of the farm as fall settles in for a spell. The farmer walks through his fields, admiring the leaves and the small pumpkins still growing. Little green pumpkins clinging to the vine, hidden by the giant leaves. Some still sit as small as an orange.

He turns on his sprinklers and steps back, letting the water rain over the pumpkins. Once they have been thoroughly drenched, he turns it off and slowly makes his way back towards his farm. He takes one last glance back at his pumpkin field before entering his barn.

Weeks go by and the farmer continues to turn on the sprinkler, unless there is rain that day. The ground drank the water and gave it to the plants. The water seeps up the roots and helps the pumpkins grow. The green slowly fades as they get bigger.

In no time at all, bright oranges, white mixed with greens, and whites glitter the fields. Some are big, some are medium, and some are still small but full of color. In the middle sits a large white pumpkin. Its snowy white color stands out among the others. It quickly became the farmer’s pride.

Every day, he would wipe the dirt from the snowy white surface. He keeps it watered and keeps the other pumpkins away from it. When families and others come to the farm to purchase pumpkins, he never lets anyone near the snowy white pumpkin.

He snaps at children and chases off teens. He growls at parents, stating it’s not for sale before lumbering away.

The farmer’s wife notices the changes in her husband and one night she sneaks out to the pumpkin patch. She takes with her an ax so she can end the strange behavior.

She believes if she destroys the snowy white pumpkin, it will end him becoming so grumpy. She gets closer to the pumpkin when she hears something snap behind her.

She turns on her heel but doesn’t see anyone. Shaking the feeling, she continues to walk through the field to the snowy white pumpkin. She lifts the ax over her head when she is beside it and glares at the thing.

“Give me back my husband.”

The moonlight shines bright that night and it makes the snowy white pumpkin glow. She hesitates as she stares at the glowing pumpkin. A shadow appears on the pumpkin as someone stands behind her.

She slowly turns but doesn’t get to see who it was as they shoved a spading fork into her. She gasps as her eyes roll up as the pain surges through her body. She drops the ax and crumbles to the ground.

The sprinklers come on and the farmer walks around the pumpkin as he wipes away his wife’s blood. Once it is clean, he takes out the spading fork from her body and tosses it to the side.

With the shovel he brought, he digs a hole next to the pumpkin and shoves her body in it. Her body lands on decaying bodies with roots traveling through the veins. Some roots wiggle, then stab their way hungrily into the wife’s body.

“Sorry, love,” he mumbles as he buries her.

He pats the pumpkin when he has finished the job and makes his way back to his house. He smiles as he wipes his wife’s blood off his face.