It was our thirteenth birthday and I had to dig her up. That’s how it went – you drove to the field, looked for your number, and started digging. Those who were born in winter had it difficult – the soil was hardened. I was born in spring.
Appearance-wise the field wasn’t much different from a potato field. And when my mom dropped me off there were another two people harvesting. Both girls. Both with clenched jaws.
I got my hoe at the shed and started looking for 160502. The naked rows of the field stretched far and the sky was white. Although it was May, that day I felt cold. I passed one of the girls.
“Happy birthday.”
“Happy birthday.”
She was crying, I noticed.
“Need a napkin?”
She straightened up.
“Thanks.”
Leaning the hoe on her body, she blew her nose. She had freshly blistered hands.
“I’m Hannah.”
“Fiona.”
“I better get going. It might start raining soon.”
I looked at the hole Fiona dug up so far. She would reach the head any time now, I thought.
Finally, I found my spot. 160502. Seemingly empty piece of soil. Insignificant. If I plucked the number out of the ground, maybe I could make a run for it. But who knows, maybe I wouldn’t grow into an adult and the police would seize me soon anyway.
I started digging.
Noon lapsed into evening. The sky cleared and a sunset slowly spilled over the fields. Fiona was gone. Both Fionas. I stopped digging and instead knelt next to the hole, using my hands to gently get the soil out of the hair. When I had a good bunch of hair, I started pulling. The remaining girl started pulling around the same time as me. I had to wonder, would we be friends, once this is over?
“Come on,” I panted, and suddenly, a young woman emerged from the hole with ease, helping me with her arms and legs. We fell to the ground together and she took my hand. She was naked, developed. My face, but older. We weren’t allowed to talk. She stroked my head and I held in the sobs, shaking.
It’s me, I repeated to myself. It’s me. I’ll still live.
She submerged me into the hole and slowly started throwing the soil back. The sky glowered bright red and I felt how the Earth clenched me, never to let go again. I closed my eyes. Once light no longer reached my eyelids, my thoughts trailed off. I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep.
Hannah dressed up. The clothes were all new. She looked around and spotted another girl putting on her dress. She waved. The girl waved back. And then, her parents came to pick her up. Nervous. Anticipating a teenager.
Viktorie Kravčenko
