Evan’s breath fogged out in front of him, a miniature cloud floating on the crisp winter air. His fingertips were almost numb inside his leather workman gloves. His nose and cheeks were red from the bite of the winter air and his stiff muscles ached. Still, he kept working, stabbing the snow with the spade of his shovel and hurling it to the side. The motions were simple, but the weight of the snow and the cold air kept a sheen of sweat fresh on his forehead.
Since sunrise, he sculpted a path from his front door down to his driveway and towards the main pasture. The cows were warm in the barn, eating dry straw while the horses rested in the stables. Only the sheep with their thick woolen coats were left outside to enjoy the snow and they pushed their noses down into it so that they could find the frozen grass beneath.
Evan finished with his shovel and returned back to the small farm house with its attached carport where his powder blue ’67 F100 waited. The truck had certainly seen better days; it was hard to tell where the mud ended and the rust began and the factory blue paint was all but bleached from years in the elements.
As he fought with the rusted, metal scraping blade to fix it to the front of his pickup, Evan idly thought about using his abilities for the remainder of his work. He could tap into his divinity and bless the land, allowing the snow to melt away with ease.
But he didn’t.
Someone might need it, he kept telling himself. Somewhere, another farm could have been hit harder by the ice. A family could be snowed in with no livestock or crops to help them through. That was the driving thought that pushed him through the snow despite the loss of feeling in his toes.
The F100’s engine rumbled awake and Evan made sure to listen carefully in case a prayer came through for his help.
No one called for him; no one needed him as he scraped the roads along his property down to the main road. Evan was left alone to complete his work throughout the day even past sunset.
He walked into his home, greeted by several dogs who behaved as if he had been gone for years, and covered in sweat and dirt. Drained and feeling like a failure despite his productive day, Evan kicked off his boots and pulled a cold beer from the refrigerator before flopping down onto his rundown couch.