25. Hard work

The Planter family's house was an old, damp wooden house that had been around for generations. All his life, the Planter clan lived here, grew up, was born and died. Inside the house was well maintained, apart from the moss covering the walls of hornbeams that grew from the tree and a bunch of beetles that crawled back and forth.

" Welcome to my home ! " – Sprig proudly announced

"Um... yes, I'm glad to be here. " – Ann imperceptibly moved away from the wall on which the centipede was crawling

" So how can I help you ? I need to run an errand from..."

" AAAAAAA ! "

Suddenly, something big, round and pinkish attacked Ann, landing on her face. It started hitting her on the face, biting and scratching the mask.

" Ahhh ! Take it off me ! Sprig ! Help me! It wants to eat my face ! " – Ann was trying her best to pull something off her face

" Polly ! Stop it now! " – Sprig jumped up to Ann and easily took off " Polly ".

Ann then moved away and, catching her breath, pointed to a large pink ball in Sprigg's hands.

"Sprig... phew... who is this? "

"Oh, sorry about that." – Sprig put the ball on the ground

"This is my little sister, Polly. Polly, this is my friend Ann. "

Polly was a round pink ball, with eyes and mouth, as well as a yellow speckled bow on her... head?

" Hmm ! " – she turned away from Ann and jumped somewhere

Sprig just shook his head wearily.

"Sorry about that, she's just in a growth phase right now. All tadpoles become like that. Plus, due to the fact that Hop Pop is down, she is very worried. Hormones, will you raise? "

"…..she just tried to eat my face. "

"...ahem! So, the farm has been in a mess lately..."

" Don 't change the subject ! "

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The Plantation farm was big. They had their own vegetable garden, cattle, snail, as well as a pond with fish that they bred. Ann immediately realized that she was here for a long time when she saw the animals wandering around the garden and eating crops.

"Very well. Let's get started. " – she rolled up her sleeves and got down to business

First of all, it was necessary to drive the cattle into the corral. With this she was helped by Sprig, who urged them on with his whip-tongue. He was putting the animals together while Ann was fixing the fence. It is known that it has long rotted away and the animals just said it when they saw fresh greens from the garden.

There was fresh wood in the shed, but it wasn't enough. Then they went to a local carpenter, an axolotl named Logg. Logg was blue in color, with glasses on his eyes that allowed him to see. Two crests grew out of his head.

Logg was... a strange amphibian. He was obsessed with the tree and claimed to have heard their voices. But even all his strangeness did not negate the fact that he was a master in his field. He sold them the boards and they quickly returned to the farm to repair the fence.

Anne managed at the very last moment, because Sprig had already driven all the cattle from the fence. By the way, the cattle here looked like cows, but only in the form of a worm. And when they locked up the animals, it was time to clean the territory, and there was utter chaos.

Everything is destroyed, led, the garden is trampled, the fish in the pond is intimidated and most of the plants died.

"Sprig, bring the hoes, we'll dig a vegetable garden. "

Ann and Sprig began to weed the ground. And Sprig noticed that Ann was doing it just like his grandfather. Without unnecessary movements, sound or errors.

"Wow, Ann. You're a real expert at this. "

" I 'm not used to it ! It's not the first time I've dug a vegetable garden. " – she stuck the hoe in and leaned on it

" My mom made a small vegetable garden in the backyard of our house. She made me take care of it, water it and read various gardening literature. " – she smiled remembering her mother

"Wow, your mom must be cool. "

"Pf, yes! She's the coolest, sweetest and kindest woman I've ever met. She helped me get out of my depression by giving me something I'm responsible for. Thanks to her, I was able to go beyond the redevelopment of my room."

" Depression ? I didn't think you were such a... person. You usually seem cheerful. "

"Yes....but even I've had dark days. " - She shook her head sadly

Then she lost her best friend. It hurt her that she turned away from him. She locked herself in her room and did not leave it for more than two months. She didn't do anything. I just ate, slept and stared at the ceiling. Nothing mattered to her then.

She didn't cry, because all the tears dried up in the first month. She spent most of the day on the Internet, looking for any information about him. She spent hours reading various articles, obituaries, police counts, but could not find his trail. It only made her feel worse.

And then her mother intervened. She couldn't watch her daughter languish in four walls. One day she broke into her room and dragged her out into the backyard. She remembered how she handed her a book, seeds and a hoe with words.

"Now, that's your concern. I won't let you in the house until I see some plants here. " – and she did

Ann just snorted and threw it all away and lay down where she was standing. And when night came and she decided to return home, the doors were locked. She knocked, screamed, begged, but her mother shook her head.

For two days she lay in the backyard. Hungry, shaking from the cold and smelly from the dirt on her body. Only on the third day she decided to get into the trash and get a book with seeds.

She read the book, learned how to plant carrots, how to work with a hoe. In three days, she turned a small plot in the backyard into a small garden with seedlings. And only then did her mother let her in.

Ann ate, washed, and went to sleep in a soft bed. Hoping that all that horror was over. But the next day, her mother woke her up with a bucket of cold water.

"Get up, sonya. It's time to learn responsibility. "

And she was back in the backyard, without breakfast and in her pajamas. So it was every day. Day after day, her mother threw her out into the backyard, forcing her to take care of the garden. And every day, Ann's resentment of herself disappeared.

Before she knew it, she herself got up at dawn and went to the garden. In three years of her career as a farmer, the garden has grown and she has completely forgotten about past problems. She stopped looking for Adam, because she realized that it was useless.

"….I've been through this for a long time. " – she turned away from the Sprig and continued weeding

"I no longer care about the mistakes of the past. After all, I can aspire to the future without looking back. "

But even she didn't know that it was all a lie. Even forgetting about Adam, she always inadvertently read the news or newspapers. I read every word, inadvertently looking for clues.

Watched the news channels.

She skipped classes to "take a break from studying" while she herself walked along the streets of the city and peered into every face.

The mind will tell you to forget, but the heart... the heart will never forget.

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Adam was sitting in his office and massaging his eyes. Massive bags could be seen under his eyes while his hair was disheveled. He had not slept for several days, completely immersed in the papers.

" Aaaaaaaaa ! How it pisses me off ! " – he plopped his head on the table

He was looking at a bunch of papers on his desk and just wanted to burn them to hell.

"Eh, now I understand why Reagan has such bags under her eyes. " - He straightened up and rubbed his eyes

"Okay, a couple more letters and a break....Wait, what time is it now? "- he turned to the window and saw that the sun was gradually sinking below the horizon

"... apparently I won't have a break. " – he put on his helmet and walked through the corridors out of the office

He went out into the main hall, where Ann and Sasha had already given him.

Ann's clothes were all dirty, torn in some places, and crumpled in others. Ann was sprawled on the sofa and breathing slowly, resting from hard work.

Sasha's clothes were completely clean and well-groomed. He also noticed that Sasha was all shiny. She was looking at herself through a small mirror and smiling contentedly.

"So, it's time to summarize your assignment. " – he sat down opposite

"Ann, Sasha, give me your bags of money. "

Sasha untied the almost empty bag and put it on the table. Tired Ann threw her bag without looking. Adam took both, weighed them, looked inside and nodded to something.

"Well, apparently you've done a great job. " – he put down the bags

"I think it's worth rewarding you. " - Sasha's eyes sparkled as Ann raised her tired gaze

"From the next day, I will allocate you a weekly allowance. You can safely leave the library and spend time in the village, but only in these costumes. "

Sasha smiled contentedly while Ann narrowed her eyes. She felt that something was wrong here.

"It was good news, now let's start with the bad news. " - He carefully removed the bags from the table ..

[ BAM ! ]

Adam swung his arm and broke the table in half. Ann and Sasha shuddered and jumped, looking at him with a surprised look. His eyes lit up as he looked at these two.

" Did you really think that my words were an empty sound? I warned you, I told you about the punishment for non-compliance. "

He got up and took two bags and threw them back to them.

" Did you think I was joking ? " – he loomed over them

"You disappointed me ...Sasha. " he turned to her

"You spent all the money on a trip to the spa salon while your friend was working hard and worked like hell to complete the task given to him. Do you know how I know ? " - he pointed to the pouch at her feet

"I gave each of you an even amount of copper. Before sending you, I specifically went shopping and found out the price of each product and service. You spent almost all the money while at the spa, while you had massages, masks and painted your nails. " – he came close to her

" Counting Ann's money, it can be understood that she bought only the necessary materials. Such as wooden boards from Logg's store and a snack at a local eatery. "

Adam got even closer, forcing Sasha to push herself into the sofa. His golden eyes stared straight at her, giving her no opportunity to turn away.

" What did I say in our training sessions ? he slowly moved away from her

"You are a team. The team must trust each other. So tell me, Weybright, can I trust you now that you've left your friend alone? "

" Wwwwhat ? What are you talking about? It has nothing to do with it."

"Just the opposite. Today, you abandoned your friend and comrade, left her alone. How can I trust you now ? How can they trust you with their backs if you run away at the first opportunity?! "

Sasha shuddered and looked away from him. His angry eyes frightened her and awakened unpleasant memories. She turned her gaze to Ann, hoping for help. But Anne turned away from her, trembling slightly.

" Ahhhh " – Adam sat down on the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest

He closed his eyes and took a slow, calming breath. If such a thing had happened on Earth, he would have just slaughtered the bastard. No one dares to obey his orders, everyone is obliged to follow them. And those who don't do it, find it in the gutter.

He noticed how Sasha was shaking slightly, and Ann was barely conscious. She was too tired for today, plus his screams. He needs to carry the poor thing to bed.

"As I said, from this day on, you will no longer leave this library....I wish I could say that, but I can't. Because among the two of you, Ann has done her job. Therefore, I am giving you a more lenient punishment. " - Adam got up and walked over to Ann

"From now on, I will increase the amount of training three times. You will be able to stay on the street for no more than two hours, I will also cut your weekly salary. " – he carefully picked her up in his arms

"And yes, Weybright. " - He turned to Sasha

"All your salary, Ann will be leaving. And so it will be until you regain my trust. I trusted you, and you just threw my trust in the trash. Apparently I was too hasty, hoping that you would become a leader. " - she flinched at his words

He turned away from her and headed upstairs. He did not notice how Sasha began to tremble until small tears began to flow down her face.

"Again... I did it again. " – she hugged herself and stared into the void

"I failed again....destroyed trust again. "

Her eyes closed while images of the past played in her head.

{Don't worry, Weybright. You can stop spreading rumors about me. After all, from this day on, you will never... } – he walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder

{...you'll never see me again. } – he smiled slightly at her, and then disappeared into the crowd

Sasha was crying quietly alone. No one will calm her down, no one will hug her and whisper sweet words in her ear. It won't happen again.

After all, she destroyed it all with her own hands. Again.