The Cabbage

A short story about the life of a cabbage. I wrote this for an assignment in English 11.

The Cabbage

 

He had been so happy when they had chosen him. There must have been dozens of

others, but they had picked up him. He squealed silently with glee when the taller woman

placed him in her green plastic basket. He positively beamed when he was placed on the

black moving rubber. This is what the others must have been talking about, he thought.

They were right. This was everything they said it would be.

They took him to their home and placed him in a large white room, with other vegetables,

meat, eggs, some milk, and even some-! Then the light went out. They had closed the

door to this magical world that now belonged in part to our protagonist.

He waited hopefully. Surely they would not forget about him. They had chosen him. There

was no one better. He waited.

And waited.

He began to lose faith when, suddenly, light broke into the cold, white containment

kingdom.

Oh! I'm so sorry! He shouted. How could I have ever doubted you? I hope you can forgive

me! He continued as warm human hands lifted him from his perch. He opened his leaves

as much as he could as a loving greeting. The hands placed him on his back on a wooden

board. He began to get comfortable as he watched the appendage slide a piece of the

counter out of itself, it contained many shiny things. He smiled pleasantly as the human

leaned over him, having obtained something from the hole in the counter. The human took

hold of him with one hand, the other wielding the something.

No need to be so rough, he told the hand. I'm not going anywhere.

He had hardly finished his sentence before the knife tore through him. He screamed in

agony, nearly blind with the pain, his first instinct screamed at him to get away. With half

of himself gone, he rolled violently to one side, he went with the movement and landed

where the rest of him was supposed to be. He whimpered in anguish with the pain and the

realization that he could not escape. Then the hands picked him up once again. They

brought him back to his containment cell and placed him back on his perch. He cried for

his loss and the fear of what they were going to do to him next. This process continued for

hours. The door was not opened again.

When he had finally calmed down enough that he could think of other things besides his

affliction, he heard a voice.

Hey, it said.

He did not answer, fear welling up inside him again. Being ignored did not appear to bother

the voice.

They took the knife to you, didn't they?

He affirmed the question with a moan that escaped from him.

Yeah, said the voice. Me too.

A silence.

What's your name, kid?

...Cooper,

he managed, his voice shaky.

Well Cooper, my name is Anderson, Anderson said soothingly. So kid. What are you?

I'm a cabbage.

A cabbage, hey? I was wondering what that smell was...I'm a carrot. Like I said, they got

me, too, and many of my friends, we always travelled together, he sighed, remembering

the good times. They chose us out of dozens of other groups, we thought we were special.

Then they took us. He stopped speaking for a long moment.

They got a lot of my lower end, Anderson said resentfully.

They chopped me in half! Cooper wailed, he could feel the tears returning.

Hey, kid. Trust me, it's not the worst that could happen.

Oh yeah? Cooper challenged.

Yeah, Anderson said with finality. Then he provided some examples.

They could have ripped a cabbage like you apart, piece by piece! Thrown you into boiling

water and waited for you to become soft and dead! I've seen it all. But the worse

can still happen.

Cooper waited for Anderson's words with baited breath.

You can get too old for them to find you appealing. It's happening to me. I guess they don't

eat carrots very often.

Cooper gasped. That would be horrible! How long have you been here? He asked.

A long time, kid. A week at least. I remember when they opened the door again after they

had taken me and massacred my friends. They picked me up. I was so afraid. That was

when I found out I wasn't as stiff as I used to be. Almost like rubber, they picked me up

and I bent over. Not very far, mind you, but far enough. I was so relieved when they put me

back down. For a long time I dwelt in my victory. Then I got thinking. They didn't take

me. I'm only going to get worse. What happens then? What happens when I get too old?

Cooper began to wonder, also. He thought about the possibilities until Anderson spoke

again.

I'll tell you, kid. I'll tell you what they'll do. They won't want us hanging around in here

forever, old vegetables, we start to smell, and they ain't going to eat us anyway. They'll get

rid of us. I don't know how, but they're gonna drop us off somewhere.

But, Cooper started. He didn't finish. He couldn't think of anything to say. For a while he

wondered what happened to old vegetables. For a long time both of them were silent. Then

Cooper broke the silence.

Anderson? Could you tell me about your friends?

And he did. They spoke and told stories for ages. Anderson about his friends and the

people he met at what he called the Grocery Store. He told Cooper about his adventure of

falling onto the floor in the Grocery, bringing all his friends with him. Luckily they had all

been picked up, rinsed off and placed carefully back in their usual spot. In turn Cooper told

stories of the time before he had come to what Anderson called the Fridge. It wasn't all

that interesting so they soon turned to telling jokes to each other.

Why do potatoes make good detectives? Anderson had asked him. Cooper didn't know.

And he admitted so.

Because they keep their eyes peeled! Anderson roared with laughter. Cooper laughed

along with him, even though he had no idea what a detective was.

It was when the laughter died down that the door opened yet again. Light filled their

containment area, blinding them. Suddenly Cooper heard Anderson shouting to him,

sounding further away then he had previously.

Don't worry about me, kid! You've gotta get yourself outta there! Find away to escape! Don't

let them take you!

The door shut and everything was silent again.

Unbeknown to Cooper it was days later when he finally stopped wallowing in his own self

pity. He had mourn the loss of his other half, and Anderson, the only true friend he had in

the world, questioned why it had to be him that was chosen, and cursed himself for being

so foolish when the humans had taken him from where he was before his white prison.

Then he remembered what Anderson had said. He had to find a way to escape, he couldn't

let them take him! He tried to move. But it was no use, they had placed him on his flat

side. He cursed the humans superior intellect, then attempted another roll. He couldn't

budge. He did not know what to do. He couldn't move and he was all alone. He almost fell

back into grieving.

But then.

He began to form a plan. It was as though the idea was already laid out for him, all he had

to do was go over it.

His sadness was washed away and replaced by hate and loathing for the humans, that

powered his will to escape and exact revenge on them. His ruthlessness began to show

and he laughed. A slow humorless chuckle at first, but then it grew. It grew into something

more terrifying than anything he had heard before, but it didn't bother him. It would have

started a panic in the old Cooper, but the old Cooper was no more.

Cooper wasn't sure how long it was before the humans opened the door to get him. But

he fancied it was close to a few days. It was a young male human, this time. Looking surly

the boy pinched his nose and picked up Cooper in his other hand. Cooper began to feel

sick as the boy walked, the combination of the constant motion and the shudder that went

through him when the boy's feet stomped down on the hardwood was too much. But soon

they were outside and the grass softened the boy's heavy footsteps.

Now was the time to act. Cooper put his all his leaves into it, he gave a mighty heave

and tumbled from the boy's hand. When the boy bent down to reach him, he managed to

roll in the opposite direction. The boy didn't try more than twice. Cooper laughed his victory.

But - too soon. He felt a hardy thump against his side and went spinning and tumbling in

the direction the boy had kicked him. Some of his leaves fell off painfully as he rolled.

Eventually he came to a rolling stop, only for the boy to kick him again, he merely let out a

grunt. He wasn't letting this monster get the best of him. When he stopped a second time

the human bent down and picked him up with two hands. There was no getting away. He

promptly dropped Cooper down into a black cylinder. He tumbled into darkness and, for the

third time, came to a painful stop. He began to bellow out at the human in protest, but

quickly realized that he would have gone and left Cooper to die.

He heard a voice.

Cooper? It that you?

The voice sounded old and weak.

Anderson? Cooper cried out.

Yes, was the reply. You don't have to yell, I'm nearly right next to you.

Oh Anderson! When you were taken I thought that was it! I thought I would never see you

again!

Oh, Cooper, Anderson sighed. This is it. Don't you understand? They've taken us to the

Compost. We're never going to leave here. Not even after we die.

The Compost? Cooper repeated.

Yes, it's where all the vegetables that humans don't want anymore go. Do you know what

we're sitting on? Dead, decaying vegetables. They came here same as us, dying or already

dead. We're going to end up exactly like them.

No! Cooper hollered. I refuse to believe that! I'm going to get out of here and I'm taking you

with me!

Don't be ridiculous, Cooper. The only way out is the way we came in. Up. And we can't get

up there.

We have to try, Cooper rebutted.

No, replied Anderson. No we don't. We can just sit here and die, because there's nothing

else we can do.

Cooper began to start a counterstatement but Anderson cut him off.

I've come to realize the truth, and so should you, Cooper. Now. Be quiet and let me die in

silence.

Anderson's words rattled Cooper. He began to think over everything Anderson had said. He

was deeply crestfallen to find that he was right, It all made sense. Neither of them were

going to get out of the Compost. No vegetable ever was, and he was sitting right on top of

the proof. So he obeyed Anderson. He was silent.

At first Cooper thought of nothing. He sat with his blank mind and accepted death. Another

large period of time went by, Cooper couldn't be sure how long, he was never good at

determining things like that. But he knew that during that time he began to feel weaker, and

flatter, somehow. What was left of his leaves began to droop and wilt. Then he noticed that

he had also began to cave in on himself. He idea terrified him. He began to think that he

might find comfort in speaking with Anderson, again and telling the stories they used to tell

and the jokes that made very little sense to an uneducated vegetable. Finally he called

Anderson's name. There was no answer.

Anderson, he said more sternly. Again no answer. Then he began to feel anxious.

Anderson! Anderson! He called hysterically.

Oh, God, Anderson! No! No...no.

It was then that he gave up all hope. He had realized when Anderson had told him to be

silent that there was no getting out of the Compost. But now it was so much more real.

Now that he was alone again the impact physically crushed him. He let out one last tiny

whimper.

Good bye, Anderson.

And he became dead. Dead like Anderson. Dead like all the other vegetables beneath his

decaying leaves that had given up hope.

Reviews

[Frantzuu]

I agree with the comment below me, awesome write :D

[Adora.xo]

Wonderful piece here :3 Lurv it dannith