The Farm

Once there was a little farm on the western side of a town. It was owned by a nice couple; Mr and Mrs Swine. On this farm there lived a human. His name was Billy.

Billy ws not the only human on this farm. Billy's family lived here too, as well as his friends. Mr and Mrs Swine treated them nicely; and all in all their life was good. They could graze all they wanted in the green fields under the sun, they slept in warm, comfortable stalls filled with hay, and they were fed well and regularly. In fact, if you passed the farm on any given day, you would surely see Billy and his friends lying on the fields, soaking up the warmth of the sun, patting their portly bellies. Often, Mr Swine would go to their stalls and talk the humans, and they would revel in his attention. They especially loved it when he nuzzled the top of their heads with his snout.

It was a good life, and the humans were always happy. But the farm had its share of mysteries too. For instance, the number of humans never went up - only down. For every two new humans born, two older ones would disappear. It took some time before they noticed that every single human that disappeared was led to that old, gray building behind the red barn. They were led there, but no one ever came back. No one ever thought to question that - that was simply how things worked.

Life was good on this farm. There was plenty of food and lots of pleasant days under the sun. Some humans continued to be led into the gray building. But no one really cared, for after such occasions, Mrs Swine always came out holding bucketloads of food for them.

Then, one winter night, Billy's parents announced that he was going to be a big brother. Billy was overjoyed, of course. He ran outside and pranced in the snow in joyous celebration.

Billy's sister was born one cold autum night, after hours of labor. Billy watched fascinated as his tiny little sister suckled greedily from his mother's breast. He looked on as his tiny little sister held out her tiny little hand to touch their mother's wrist. Her tiny little hand touched her just below that tiny purple mark.

Life continued on the farm, if not slightly better than before. Billy now had a little sister to play with. Often, they would spend their afternoons sprawled together by the stable door, snoozing after their afternoon snack.

Then, exactly one year after Billy's little sister was born, Mr Swine dropped by the stable. He went over to Billy's mother and father, and put a leash on them. Then Mr Swine led them outside, and started towards that all to familiar gray building.

Billy then felt something stir in his stomach. He ran after them and yelled for Mr Swine to stop. Mr Swine seemed not to understand, for he just went on. Billy ran faster to be by his mother's side. "Mom! Stop!" He nearly choked out.

His mother did not even look slightly troubled. "It's alright, son. I've always wanted to know what was inside that building. I'll finally see it now!" Then, without a pause in her stride, she held his head in her hands and kissed the top of his head. Billy saw a flash of purple - the purple birthmark - before she lowered her hands again.

Then Mr Swine stopped. They had reached the gray building. Billy's mother walked inside first, but his father stopped. He turned to his son and said, "Goodbye now. Take care of your little sister." Then he too went inside. Billy watched as the doors closed behind his father.

Billy sat and waited outside for a while before he finally turned back to the stable. The night was beautiful; the stars were magnificent up in the sky. But Billy did not notice anything other than the freezing cold that bit into his very core.

He soon reached the stable, and saw that the other humans were up and about. It was dinnertime, and everyone was excited as usual. But Billy didn't feel hungry. He walked over to his corner and sat there. He sat, unmoved, and stared glumly at the others.

Mrs Swine arrived on time, once again with a bucket of food. The other humans lined up around their plates excitedly, as Mrs Swine dealt out the food. This was done in a few minutes time. Mrs Swine straightened up to observe the stable, and it was then that she spotted Billy crouched in the corner. She filled a plate with food and approached him.

Billy looked up and saw the plate first, and then Mrs Swine. Her smile was so beautiful, and her eyes so kind, that Billy could not help but smile back. He accepted the plate gratefuly and started to eat.

He was happy for a while, then suddenly the emotions related to his parents rose up to the surface, and he choked. He stared down at his plate as Mrs Swine started to pat his head. Then she nuzzled his head with her snout.

For a moment there, Billy thought he saw a purple spot on the meat that was on his plate. But he didn't delve on the thought. Mrs Swine was nuzzling him with her snout, and he loved that.

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The story behind this story:

I was in le Biology class, working, when suddenly my muse visited me. She was like, "WRITE THIS STORY NOW!!!" And who am I to go against my muse's wishes? I am but a vessel.

This madness was inspired by the thing I read about cattle being fed dead cattle, supposedly to increase meat production. Fun. But not so fun when you translate it to humans.