Episode 21: Contributing to the Family

Terrastina finds carrot tops littering the yard near her garden. The tooth marks don’t look like rabbit, deer, or anything other than human. That night she takes a flashlight and squats on the ground on the other side of the garden. Soon she hears whispering next to the zucchini plants. She turns on her flashlight. Two startled boys look up, their faces bright, their hands grasping fresh carrots. One boy runs away. Terrastina asks the other one if his mother knows what he’s doing. No Ma’am, says the boy. She likes carrots and doesn’t ask where they come from.