Farm day swimming day- part one

Today is Thursday, my favorite day because it is a farm day. I'm excited now that the time is 3 pm, the minute hand is on the 9th, and when it hits 10, it will be ASR prayer time. My dad will go to pray, so I must prepare my towel and clothes quickly. Oh no, It's the calling prayer I have to pray before my father's came. I finished my tasks, and waiting for my father was the most challenging part- I was afraid he would not come because he promised to take us to the farm once. We waited until the evening, and he did not show up. Then when he came back, it happened that one of our neighbors had a problem and he was with him all that time. I was upset that day because Farm Day was my entertainment day. So, the clock now has the minute hand on three and the hour hand on 4. I wish he would come before the minute hand came to 9. If so, that means no farm today, or we will go home early without swimming.

***

Let me see the street; I opened the street door. The sun was burning, but I didn't care. I had to know If he was coming or not. I opened it and sat on the entrance door; I sat in the shadow because the sun was too hot to handle. Behind me, at the end of the corridor, there was the clock. I looked at it to see what time it was. I was observing the clock in fear; the more the minutes passed, the more I felt the tension in my body. I kept my head shifting between the clock and the door; maybe the clock would slow down. I was holding onto my stuff as if holding my treasure; I was afraid to put it on the ground. He may show up at any second. Then, out of nowhere, I heard his horn; it was a habit of his to horn when he went outside to give us a warner. I come back; you must be ready; my dad is here, I said loudly. I decided to inform everyone we must leave before five o'clock. I was frightened to miss the swimming part.

My father’s car was a double cabin, so on our way to the farm, I loved to sit inside because of the sun; my father used to play a cassette tape on our way. There, someone was talking about topics I did not usually understand. The person speaking was screaming, and I couldn’t hear what he said with the open window. How did my father even understand him? I adore seeing the farms along the way; they are so exquisite. Yes, finally, we arrived. The farm gate is closed, and one of us should open it. I volunteer this time. It’s twice my weight, but I don’t care. I will be the first one to enter the farm.

The pond still needed to be filled. I went to the farmer. I told him to start the water pump on it because it takes time to fill in. My father parked the car and sat on the ground. While the pond is filling

I must prepare my snacks before swimming. I would choose the perfect date palm tree. This one looks appealing and has my favorite dates. My weapon to get them was a stone. I aim for my target once, and many will fall. I collected a significant amount of dates and put them on my dress. I folded my dress to my knees to make a bag, held it with my left hand, and put the dates with my right hand.

I must hide them before someone steals them. I forgot that my clothes bag was in the car. I went to the car and put my snacks in it; I thought of taking them out of the car, but I was terrified maybe a lizard or frog would go inside it and poison them, so I decided to put them safely in the car. Let me check the water process; mm, it’s half full. I cannot swim when it’s like that because the ground is slippery with algae. I shall wait for a bit. In the meantime, I will go to see the animals.

I love seeing the goats first thing, and they look at me as if they are talking; sometimes, I enjoy imitating them, and they respond to me somehow. We have new visitors today: three new sheep; they are so cute. I wish I could touch them, but I’m afraid they will bite me. Then I go to the rabbit's cage. They eat and play, but when they hear me coming, they run to their whole, so what do I do? I trice them. I stay still on the side to make them feel there’s nobody outside the cage; then they come out.

Next was the pigeon's cage- they usually let them out all day and returned on their own; I used to wonder how they came back and never ran away. Also, There was a chicken cage, which I wouldn't say I liked because chickens are weird and not friendly. I was beaten by one of them before, and the rooster Voice is irritating because we used to have one in our home, and he woke me up early.

I ended my tour by visiting the nest room built with palm trees and wood. It was tiny and had a roof; it belonged to the farmer, and he did not sleep in it. Why he built it in the first place, I don’t know. I’m interested in it because my siblings told me if you go there, you will find snakes (cobras) like what we see in Bollywood movies. That is what frightened me to go in, but it made me curious to see the cobras from a distance; I had never seen one before.

***

After finishing my tour, I wanted to check the pool to see if it was ready; yes, it was time to swim. I went quickly to change my clothes, then came to it. I like to swim in certain places because some areas have broken and greasy floors. While we are swimming, the water pump works. If it is close, that means it’s time to go home. I always wanted to do a backflip, but it was hard, so I stuck to what I knew. The water is closed, and my father calls us to go out before it is late; the farm had no electricity back then. I wished I could stay until night, sleep on the farm, wake up at dawn to see the sunrise and witness the morning vibe. I imagined it; I thought even the animals would act differently. I got out shaking. It’s cold. I ran out quickly to change my clothes; I felt warmth immediately. After this exercise, I was tired and hungry, so I took out my dates, cleaned them from the running water, and snacked them on my way to the car. I usually feel cold and exhausted on our way back, so I wanted good food and sleep.