Everything was quiet in the country. Too quiet, Meng-An thought. He missed the restless energy of the city, the noise of people and machines, and the feeling that there was always something interesting happening, maybe just around the next corner. Here, on his uncle's farm, there was nothing but endless fields of yellow-green wheat, and a too-wide sky.
He was the only person in the house still awake. Although he was exhausted from the daily chores, he pushed himself to study just a little bit longer. If he did better in school next year, maybe his parents would let him stay home for the summer, instead of sending him to the farm. Meng-An's head was drooping steadily towards his textbook when a noise outside the window startled him awake.