10. Epilogue

Once the fire was extinguished, calling the house a black skeleton would be undeserved praise. Still calling the farm a farm would be too. Kuku had tried to catch all the gold coins, but they were scattered across the premises. Without buildings, barns or animals the area suddenly felt enormous.

As the firemen carefully assessed the damage, two refrigerator doors opened.

“Air! Fresh air!” said Elize, as she crawled out on hands and feet. Harry did the same.

“Survivors!” yelled a fireman.

Father and daughter were supported and led to one of the few wooden benches left standing. They received food and a blanket wrapped around their shoulders.

“Eight hours in a tiny closet,” mumbled Harry. His face contorted out of disgust. The bullet wound in his arm was treated, while he kept mumbling about the nightmare he just experienced.

Kuku walked up to him and dropped some gold coins from her teeth.

Harry studied her for a while.

“You … you were inside a closet every day. All hours.”

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head.

“The only reason a hundred animals didn’t burn to death today, is because I happened to let you out of your cages for once. Otherwise …”

He scratched behind Kuku’s ears. The cow recoiled.

“I am sorry.”

“What … what is this?” asked Elize, as she twirled the coin between her fingers.

More and more firemen found gold coins and brought them to Harry. They assumed it was his money, scattered by the explosion. They had to borrow some chests and metal containers to store all of it.

“Our path to a better future,” said Harry with a smile.

“A final gift of Destinydust,” said Elize. Then she jumped into a large container of gold coins and pretended to swim.

A police officer visited Harry and asked for a statement.

“All bombs and grenades, what happened here?”

“Yes, well, that inspector the government sent us, Beatrix, turned out to be part of a secret organization!” said Harry. “They attacked us. They stole our watchdog. They were, erm, surely out for my money!”

The agent frowned. Someone called someone else, who called another officer, and eventually somebody received the proper information on their mobile phone.

“None of our inspectors is called Beatrix.”

“You don’t believe us, hey? Then look around you.”

The agents took his full statement. Even though they frowned at every mention of invisible aliens and a spaceship made of weapons.

The next day, Farmer Harry was called insane in all the newspapers. His story was called a bad dream or a conspiracy theory. At the same time, however, he received letters and phone calls from people all over the world who had met this Beatrix too, and were sure he was right.

Harry and Elize shrugged and planned to rebuild their farm. Better, prettier, bigger, more natural. The barns would become large spaces, with more than enough daylight and strong walls that didn’t collapse.

The tall electrical fence disappeared. Only a low wooden fence would mark the border of their territory.

“The animals must love it here so much that they want to stay,” said Elize. Harry agreed. Even though he added that this was far cheaper and required less maintenance too.

Elize received permission to paint everything in bright colors. They even had enough gold to add a new river that meandered through the farm grounds. This addition quickly turned the area into a blooming habitat for many new plants and animal species, as if they’d added a new forest to the world.

Perhaps some remnants of the Stone of Destinydust’s magic remained. Elize sure felt the farm was magical again. It was beautiful, especially in the full summer sun, especially when she woke up in the morning to the sound of singing birds, nestled in the blossoming trees around her bedroom.

The only missing piece returned voluntarily a few days later. The animals returned, one by one at first, then in droves, until Elize counted them all.

She proudly called herself Farmer Elize again. The invisible shed was still intact and Elize insisted that nothing be built in that spot. She thought dad would look at her funny and ignore her, but he scraped the back of his head and wondered if that shed had always been there.

Sometimes, late at night, she thought she still heard Hess’ powerful bark. From the heavens, it sounded, as if he’d defeated those stupid creatures and came back, steering the rocket himself.

But he didn’t come back. It took a while to overcome her grief for Hess. Only then she picked out a new watchdog.

Kuku ran circles around everyone and helped where possible. She slowly grew too large to keep as a pet, or even pick up. No matter how badly Elize wanted to take her inside, she had to leave Kuku with the other cows in the barn, or sleeping in the grass during the summer.

Kuku persevered for a few months. She experienced most of the renovations. Still, the feeling remained that she was done with cages, barns and fences. Completely done.

Freedom. A new field of grass every day. That was the dream.

She tried to communicate this to Elize, but it was useless. Especially now that she was in high school and spent most days playing with her friends.

Because Harry could hier other people now, Elize only needed to help when she wanted. She used the opportunity to invite everyone and repeat she was Farmer Elize! all the time. The heroine that survived by hiding in a cold refrigerator! How the outside became searing hot, but the inside stayed ice cold! How she’d seen aliens and defeated them!

She dressed it up a bit, making a terrifying story sound heroic. But just the passion in her eyes, the cheerful whistling as she jumped on her bike and went to school, made Kuku’s days that much better.

New trucks arrived with new orders. That part never changed—or did it?

Harry shoved a contract in their faces. The eyes of the business men bulged.

“Two Soliduri per liter!? Are you insane?”

“If you want to pay three, I’m fine with that too.”

“Nobody will pay that. You’re digging your own grave.”

Harry shrugged. “That’s the price. That’s needed to give these animals a proper life.”

The business men narrowed their eyes. “Yes. I have heard of your mysterious pile of gold.”

Harry turned around. “Go on then. Go to the other farm that was cheaper.”

The man sprinted past him, snatched the contract from his hands, and signed it.

“That one went bankrupt. The other had to shut down after the last inspection. Congratulations, Harry, we’re buying your goods at the insane price of two Soliduri. And the meat?”

“We only slaughter when needed. I think humans can survive just fine on a bit of meat, some of the time. Instead of five times a day, every day. Ask again in half a year.”

The trucks were loaded with an air of irritation, but they always returned.

A large part of the gold didn’t need to be spent. At the next inspection, the farm passed all criteria and was even dubbed the best farm in the country.

Everyone wanted to work there. Tourists swung by to take pictures of the beautiful nature, as if it was a zoo.

They received permission to expand even further—they declined. They’d rather stay the small Nightingale Farm, renamed to Chef’s Pride. The events they experienced were written down in the history books about their own family. All the remaining gold was kept in treasure chests, hidden in a safe location.

“We must come up with an excuse for the gold,” Harry said repeatedly. Eventually, they started selling random objects. Even a few animals, as long as they knew the recipient would take good care of them.

And so it happened that they also sold their famous refrigerator. Two strong men carried it over the gravel path, while puffing and complaining under the hot sun.

“Is it supposed to be this heavy?”

“I heard they survived an explosion in this thing,” the other said. “Must be good material.”

“Good or not, I need a break.”

Elize noticed the door refused to close fully. She realized what was going on.

Kuku had drawn grass, sun, and hopping freely, again and again. Maybe she understood what Kuku wanted to say months ago, but refused to believe or admit it.

She walked to the fridge and placed her hand on top. She cried loudly, as her fingers caressed the refrigerator.

“Why don’t you … place this one in that meadow over there, just outside the fence.”

The men frowned. “So that, erm, you can … say your goodbyes … to a refrigerator?”

Elize nodded and pushed away the tears.

“I hope your happier out there,” she mumbled. The door opened slightly further. She reached inside and felt a soft, warm ball of fur.

“Come back sometimes, okay?”

The men carried the refrigerator further, awkwardly now, feeling like it was some holy object of great significance. They smiled at Elize and tried to be careful.

The next morning, the refrigerator lay on its side, door wide open, with nothing held inside.

And so it was that life continued …