BOOK EXCERPT: The Farmhouse

by Omoruyi Uwuigiaren

Chapter One

`Once upon a time in the old town of Gid, an old farmer called Erasmus had a horse and a son. The boy’s name was Jason, and the horse was Francis. They lived in a farmhouse, and Francis took them everywhere they went.

The farmer had no wife. She died after Jason was born. Erasmus vowed never to remarry and had remained a widower ever since. Taking care of Jason and Francis alone was never easy, but the farmer promised his late wife on her deathbed that he was going to raise Jason into a fine man.

One sad morning, the cockerel said it was dawn. The disturbance woke Jason. The boy stormed out of sleep. He removed the blanket and rolled out of bed. He went to the window and peered out. The weather was clear, and the boughs of trees bowed and danced to the sweet movement of the morning breeze.

Jason liked the morning, and then he carried himself to the sitting room, where his father was on his knees saying his morning prayers. Erasmus was praying silently as Jason knelt down near him. He bowed his head, placed his hands together and closed his eyes.

He prayed too. Once the man was done with prayers, he rose to his feet and sat on the chair. Jason also rose and sat beside his father. Erasmus stroked his head with his palm that was as hard as the back of a turtle. “How was your night, son?” he asked.

“It was great, Dad. Good morning,” the boy said.
“Good morning, my boy. I am hungry. Go check the horse while I prepare our breakfast,” Erasmus said. He stretched his body.
“Okay,” Jason jumped to his feet. He walked out of the house with his trousers loose at his waist. The boy carried himself to the stable. His duty every morning was to feed Francis the horse. And clean the stable. Now, Jason got to the stable with his eyes and mouth widened in surprise. Francis was not in the stable.

“What happened to the horse?” he thought. He walked about. Something broke the stable. He searched everywhere on the farm and did not find Francis. Frustrated, Jason hurried to the house.
Erasmus had fried some eggs and was at the kitchen table when Jason broke in. “Dad, we have a problem!”
“What is it?” Chewing, Erasmus shot a glance at his son.
Disgruntled, Jason said, “I can’t find Francis!”
“What do you mean you can’t find Francis?”
“Our horse is missing!”
“Francis?” Erasmus jumped to his feet. “He can’t do that. Did you feed him last night?”
“Yes! I even doubled his ration,” Jason said.

His countenance fell. Erasmus shook his head. “It will be a disaster if he is truly gone!” He wiped his hands with his handkerchief and hurried out of the kitchen. He ran out of the house and faced the way to the stable with Jason by his side. Not long after, they arrived at the stable. Jason was right. The horse was gone. Erasmus collapsed onto a bench in the stable.

“What must have gone wrong? Francis has never run away.” He hissed as his son looked on. “We have a big problem now, Jason. I have a meeting to attend this afternoon. It is an immense distance from here!”

“I don’t think it is a problem. Send them a note that you cannot make it,” Jason said.
Erasmus raised his head. He wore a frown and glanced at his son. He was too young and did not know what’s going on. “I am the secretary. I must be there. Besides, today’s meeting is all about me. I applied for a loan to buy some fertilizer.

I must be there to sign the papers to get the loan. My fear is that if I do not attend the meeting today, I may not get the loan this month. They will push my application forward to next month. And the planting season is upon us!”
Jason took a deep breath. He said, “This is difficult. You must be there. What do we do now?”

“I will leave right away. The meeting starts at two o’clock in the afternoon. Hopefully, if I leave before nine, I should be there before the meeting starts.”
Jason lowered his head. He said, “Sorry, Dad. It was my fault. If I had woken up earlier, I would have stopped Francis from running away.”

Erasmus gave him a hug. “It is not your fault, my boy. I think Francis was tired of the farm. He wanted to see the world. We shall have some money to buy another horse. Let’s go eat our breakfast.” Erasmus rose from the bench. He placed his hands on his son’s shoulders and they walked back to the house.

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