I was sitting on my stoop, my back drenched with sweat caused by the unseasonal hot spring weather. I was swinging in my rocking chair, a cool glass of lemonade on the parched wood beside my seat. I was in a good mood, I remember, as I looked out at my flourishing crop of grain, thinking about the money it would fetch me at harvest.
That was when it happened.
I rubbed my wrinkled eyes, not being able to believe what I was seeing. A thick, black cloud came looming towards me. I sat, stunned, before my brain snapped and I jumped to my feet, knocking my glass of lemonade over in my haste to retreat to the safety of my house. I rushed to a nearby window, pulling back the curtain that was closed against the withering heat. I pressed my nose up against the glass, watching with a sinking heart as the black cloud descended upon my beloved crop. Day turned instantly to night as the cloud blocked the sun, impairing my vision. I could see nothing in the pitch black, and a mad crackling sound from outside nearly drove me insane.
The cloud lifted as suddenly as it came, and my throat choked up when I saw the devastation left behind. My crops looked as if a giant had stomped upon the plants in a fit of rage. Not so much as a kernel was left, an entire year of back-breaking work destroyed by a swarm of hungry locusts in a matter of moments.
It was the worst day of my life.
- Written by Ash Oldfield 2013
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