Working the fields

Jerick arrived at the corn fields to find his fellow workers already working. He was puzzled that they had arrived before he had, since he had left just after the sun had begun to rise. It was unusual for his fellow farmers to be here on time, not to mention earlier. Piles of corn had already been bunched up beside the last standing row of corn in the fields.

"'Ts nice of you tuh finuhlly join us Jerick." Malvin said, as he threw an armful of corn stalks into a pile. Jerick and the other farmer, Malva, laughed at the irony.

Malvin was a middle aged man, at least twice Jerick's age. Where furrows normally burrowed into one's face, Malvin had permanent trenches dug out between his eyes. His expression appeared as though he was squinting to read the world's smallest text, or perhaps was just excessively angry. While a smile was drawn out along his face, Jerick was never sure if it was from being happy. The smile combined with his exaggerated brow was an unusual expression to say the least.

"Guess I'm not the only one 'cited for the festival tonight then, eh?" Jerick said in reply. Jerick approached the group of cornstalks beside Malva and begun to cut them down. He would grab an armful, throw them into a pile behind him, and then move on to the next group of stalks in the row.

After throwing some stalks to the ground, Malva reached over and dipped his thumb and index finger into a pouch hanging from his waist. His fingers came out coated in animal lard. He rubbed some onto his lips and then massaged the rest into his hands. He turned over to Jerick and asked, "Wouldjya like some lard for ya lips? I knows you gots gloves but dis weather is prime for lip chappin."

Malva was brother to Malvin, whether older or younger, Jerick wasn't sure. Both shared almost all of the same features, with the main difference being about three inches of height, in Malvin's favor. At one point, Jerick wondered if they were twins, but hesitated to ask. He didn't want to offend the older brother if there was one.

Jerick accepted Malva's offer of lard, removing the glove from his right hand to scoop some lard up from the pouch. Dipping his finger into the pouch was a bizarre experience. The contents felt warm and squishy and somehow almost wet. Jerick pulled out his finger and applied the lard to his lips, pressing his lips to together, sliding them back and forth. He couldn't keep the taste from seeping into his mouth, but didn't mind it once it had. It tasted salty like bacon, with a smokey back flavor.

Hours passed and the afternoon started setting into a twilight sky. The sun emanated red and purple light through strips of clouds lining the sky. Jerick swung his sickle severing the last stalk of corn from the field and threw it into the last pile. He wiped the collecting sweat from his brow, glancing over at Malvin who was bundling up the last pile of corn. Malvin took the bundle and carried it over to the cart containing the rest of the corn, and threw it in.

"Welp I guess were finished den." Malvin said, walking back towards Jerick and Malva. "Don'tchyu worry 'bout the corn, I'll wheel it into deh village."

"Thanks Malvin. I'll see you at the festival then?" Jerick said.

"Aye. Both me and Malva will be dehr; dat you can be sure of."

Jerick waved goodbye and headed back to his home, to ready for the festival that evening.