Short Story 2 - Neighbourly Love
NEIGHBOURLY LOVE
by
Magdelin Rodrigues
It was a hot summer day in 1984 and the crowd was slowly increasing as folks from nearby towns streamed into the annual Gidgegannup Agricultural Show. Entries for the popular baking competition saw the same ladies from last year showcasing their best goodies again. Heather knew she met the competition’s requirements and gave a silent prayer in the hope that she would win that year.
“And the winner is.... Mrs. Jones!!!”
Sally Jones climbed the stairs to the stage with a smirk of triumph to collect her sash and prize as the crowds cheered. It was her third win in three years in a row and each year it was for her famous lemon tart. Heather sighed with sadness as she was forced to accept defeat again.
Though Sally was her next-door neighbour, the two women did not get along as Heather was quiet and humble while Sally always carried herself with an air of arrogance. Never missing an opportunity to belittle Heather’s beloved veggie patch and the pride she takes in caring for her fruit trees which lined her backyard, Sally would howl with laughter every time she looked into Heather’s garden, pointing out the many differences with her own manicured wonder.
Heather’s lemon tree was producing plenty of fruits despite the dry, sweltering summer heat the following year. It was growing prosperously that the branches started to hang over the shared fence between the two women’s gardens. Sally was annoyed at the many ripened lemons and leaves which fell and scattered her garden like litter and felt jealous that her own fruit trees were barely fruiting. One night, she decided to jump over the fence and poison Heather’s lemon tree.
Heather was planning on making an old family recipe for lemon tart for the upcoming Gidgegannup Agricultural Show’s annual baking competition. All she needed was a fresh batch of homegrown lemons and then she would finally be able to beat Sally at her own game. But when she went to harvest some lemons, she noticed that they were all browning on the tree and dead leaves were surrounding the sad tableau. Seeing Heather in her backyard, Sally popped her head over the fence and feigned shock and sympathy. Heather saw right through Sally’s façade but thanked her for her sympathy before shuffling back inside her house.
Moments later, Sally knocked on Heather’s door brandishing a giant zucchini. Sally gave Heather a hug and offered her the zucchini. “It’s not much,” Sally said “but its the biggest thing that I have ever grown from my garden. Perhaps you can bake a zucchini pie for the competition. It would not win of course since nobody is going to beat me but at least you will have something.”
Heather thanked Sally for the zucchini. “I can think of something to do with that off the top of my head. Would you like to come in for coffee?”.
Sally beamed with pride. She had won and now for the final humiliation, she would be able to see how Heather keeps her house and point out all the cheap and nasty things Heather treasures. Heather carried the giant zucchini and led Sally into the kitchen, deliberately ignoring the snide remarks Sally was making about her décor and family photos.
Sally sat at the dining room table, sipping on her coffee while staring out into the backyard at the dying tree. Sally started to talk again about the baking competition without taking her eyes off the tree. With a forceful swing of the giant zucchini, Heather striked it across the back of Sally’s head. Sally dropped forward out of the chair and collapsed to her knees; her head slammed into the kitchen floor.
Sally died instantly.
Heather trembled, her entire body was shaking and tried as she could, she could not maintain her grip on the giant zucchini and it slipped from her fingers, falling onto the ground with a thud sound.
Heather quickly scooped up the bloodied pieces of zucchini and set them aside on her kitchen bench. She first had to deal with the body in her dining room. Heather dragged Sally’s body to her backyard, where the dying lemon tree stood and hid it under the growing pile of brown leaves and lemons. She would have to hire a woodchipper to deal with the tree soon anyway; therefore, she would dispose of Sally on the same day and turn it all into mulch.
Heather then returned to her kitchen and began baking the grandest zucchini pie that the world had ever seen. She had already prepared to make her grandmother’s lemon tart but she only needed to change a couple ingredients to make it work with zucchini instead of lemons.
Heather smiled to herself as she brought out the zucchini pie and let it cool on a rack on the kitchen counter. The delicious smell wafted out the kitchen window and onto the street where passers-by, attracted by the smell, turned towards her house. She was sure her family recipe would win the competition today.