Day 148: 5 Minute Freewrite: Friday - Prompt: potatoes

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This story is a work of fiction
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Charles Bennet was, in old-times, what folks liked to call a fire and brimstone type Preacher, and in the small frontier town of Gailings on a Sunday morning, you could hear his booming voice all over the valley. It was said that if he didn't have a congregation to preach to on a Sunday then he would go out preaching to the livestock or head into the hills preaching to the wild animals, but he would preach the sermon that God had given him somewhere.

Wagon trains heading West often passed through Gailings and since it was the last settlement along that fork of the trail they would stop and let their livestock rest up and feed before starting the arduous journey. Here also trail guides would inspect the wagons and plead with the settlers to lighten their load as the trip would be very hard on both the livestock and their wagons.

One such wagon train stopped and among their group, there was a young couple desiring to get married. After counseling the young couple, Preacher Bennet conducted the ceremony in front of most of the members of the wagon train party and many of the local townsfolk, everyone welcomed something to celebrate. After the wedding, the bride's father, an Irishman with firey red hair and a sharp lilting brogue, approached Preacher Bennet and told him that he didn't have much in the way of something to pay him with, but the Wagonmaster had told him that he needed to lighten his load. All that I have he said are some tools that I will need for gardening and building, and as many seed potatoes as I can haul. Here said the Irishman, handing the Preacher two boxes of potatoes; May brooks and trees and singing hills Join in the chorus too, and with every gentle wind that blows may the God of heaven send abundant blessings straight to you. And with that, the stout little Irishman walked back toward his wagon.

The next day after the wagons had departed several from the town had come by to see the potatoes and it had become quite the joke around town. What are you going to do with them tatters they would ask, and chuckle, you about to change professions and take up farming they said with a wry smile? Undaunted the old Preacher man took the potatoes around back of the small cabin that served as a Church as well as his home. He then borrowed a pick and shovel from the livery and began digging up and turning over dirt in neat straight rows. The perception had been in town that the old man had taken up Preaching because it was easier than having to work for a living. But watching him break up that hard packed dirt, swinging the pick in smooth methodical arcs, they soon could easily see that this man was not a novice and that he was well versed in what it was to do work. Eventually, the novelty wore off and everyone dispersed and went about their business leaving him to his work.

It did not go unnoticed during the Summer that the Potatoes vines had come up and grown beyond anyone's expectations, good for him someone said, maybe he'll have some extra to sell come Fall. It was about that time that the Preachers sermons had turned dark and foreboding, there had been some scandals in town and even a shootout in the street. The local bar was doing a booming business while few came to hear the Preachers sermons and their growing sounds of warning that God had taken notice of their pride.

Fall came and passed quickly by, but Preacher Bennet never touched the potatoes, he didn't turn even one row. And the town was mystified when his voice went silent, they could see him outside reading his Bible often and making notes as he went, but he spoke not a word. Then came the snow, it was wet sticky flakes at first and they soon began to build a thick heavy blanket all over the land, the roads and trails, and the buildings. No one could ever remember snow like that, they were used to some snow, but this was continuous day and night. Then came the wind and the cold to go with the fresh and now powdery flakes of fresh snow. The drifts soon build up and blocked all of the roads and passes so that all travel ceased, including their shipments of supplies from back East.

After several days of howling winds and blowing snow things finally calmed down some, but heavy dark clouds continued to dominate the skies until it was hard sometimes to tell the difference between night and day. And ever so often a fresh shower of snow would pass over adding to the several feet that were already on the ground. As the supplies dwindled the townspeople found themselves trapped, many of the livestock had frozen to death in the worst of the storm and those remaining were showing signs of distress from being out in the harsh conditions without any ability to forage for food, and the feed grain was already about gone. The people butchered the frozen stock that they could find and ate well for awhile, then they began to kill and butcher the remaining stock that had survived. When that eventually ran out the entire town really began to suffer, and they all knew that if something didn't change soon they would all starve. Someone said "Let's go over to Preacher Bennet's and see if he will pray for us, It was then that they remembered the potatoes!

The crowd gathered at the Preachers house and pounded on the door but there was no answer. So they opened the door and stepped in. At the back of the cabin were great big piles of freshly dug potatoes and there was an open Bible on the small table where the Preacher ate his meals. The Preacher could not be found anywhere and there were no tracks in the snow, even when they checked behind the cabin where the garden had been the snow was undisturbed as if no one had been there all winter. Someone picked the Bible up and read from the open page;

> Matthew 7
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

They checked the Bible from front to back but there was no notes or writing in it at all, in fact, it appeared to be brand new as if never used. A search of the cabin showed no signs that anyone had ever lived there.

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**Disclaimer: I often use the freewrite prompt to tell a story instead of doing a pure freewrite, so they sometimes take longer than 5 minutes and usually have some editing. But I try to do my story straight through at one sitting without any unnecessary breaks.
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Unedited Potatoes Photo by Greg Traver

Over 20 Club Graphic by the ever so talented @fireawaymarmot and personalized for me by @snook
Old' Steem by the most wonderful @snook
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Prompt: potatoes

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