This story was selected as a finalist in the MAYDAY 2022 Flash Fiction Contest.
A cow stood in the field. Amanda didn’t hesitate, but walked right over. She was paying $75 an hour to hug this cow, why hesitate? It would be her first hug in over a year.
“Hey,” she said to the cow.
The cow lay down in the field.
Amanda lay down next to the cow. She put her arms around the cow’s neck.
The cow made a satisfied lolling sound.
Amanda tried to loll too. It felt natural.
She leaned into the cow. She stroked the cow’s neck.
One year. No hugs.
“Hey,” she said to the cow.
$75. Why?
No sounds, but Amanda’s. One year.
She hugged the cow. Over and over. It felt right.
The cow lolled.
Amanda sobbed.
No hugs. One year. Only this cow.
Amanda was 75. She didn’t hesitate. The cow. This field. She lolled.
Amanda was the cow. This was her field. She was a cash cow.
She was satisfied. Natural. Lying over the cow’s neck.
Hugging a cow.
She felt right. Only a sound. A sound next to hers.
One hour. Over.
She tried to stand and hug the cow. Her arms around the cow’s neck.
“Hey,” said the cow. “Pay cash only.”
LOUISE BIERIG leads the Lansdowne Writers’ Workshop, using the Amherst Artists & Writers Method (AWA). Currently, she is writing a novel titled Zane Anderson, MFT, PsyD, as well as several short stories. Her short story, “The Anderson Family Motto,” was published in Toho Publishing’s The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia 2021. Her other pieces have appeared in shortédition, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Philadelphia Stories, Peregrine Journal, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Louise is a 1997 graduate of The University of Iowa’s Undergraduate Writers’ Workshop.
