Factory Harmed

The blaring of his alarm clock going off, Liam stretched and yawned as he was off to another grueling workday. After having groggily rubbed his eyes, brushed his teeth in the bathroom, and gotten dressed, he drove on his way to work in the silence of his car. Meditating on what music he’d listen to, on his drive in, he selected that heavy metal would be the best fit.

After punching in his timecard, he donned his apron and safety glasses, put one of his Bluetooth earbuds in, and turned on his mp3 player. As the first song began to play, he opened the doors as he walked onto the production line. It was the same as always; separate the eggshells from the product, and make sure that the product moved down the line seamlessly.

Once lunch break rolled around, he put his music away to drink a sip of coffee while eating a PBJ sandwich.

“No meat today, Liam?” Jessica sat down across from him.

“I can’t stomach it while I’m here.”

“Really gets to you, huh?”

“Does more than ruin my lunch, that’s for certain.”

Pulling out her salad, she said, “Yeah, it certainly does. Sometimes it even affects my grocery shopping.”

“I’m just glad that the smell doesn’t stay with me once I shower at home.”

“Same.”

Continuing the rest of their break in silence, Liam’s heart still weighed heavy on why he ever took this occupation in the first place.

“I just need the cash right now,” he thought. “I just needed to get out of town and move away. Sure, it pays well, but it’s taxing, and I’m not talking about the government.”

“Do you think you can really continue on like this?” Another voice in his head briefly asked him, “Liam, it’s affecting more than your sleep. It’s affecting your heart.”

“Shut up.”

Jamming his earbud back in, he realized that he was halfway through his playlist, getting back to the daily grind, he wore a proverbial mask on his face, as if to shield him from his emotions. As he was separated the eggshells from the product a little voice spoke out to him.

“Help! Help! Help…”

“Huh?” He looked around, but nobody else was talking at all. They were all so focused on their work like machines on an assembly line. It was one task then onto the next.

“Help! Help! Help…” He heard the voice again amidst the mechanized sounds of the conveyor belt. Looking down at the belt, he saw that an eggshell was stuck on one of the products. Picking it up and removing it, the product spoke again, “Warmth.”

Blinking his eyes, Liam was more than startled. He thought he had lost his mind. Placing the product down, to move further on down the line with the rest of them, it began to race against the conveyor belt. Even though Liam went back to tossing eggshells off the line, it was doing everything it could to reach him.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to it, a perfect opportunity revealed itself. Just as Liam’s hand had turned over, it jumped inside the palm of his hand. Nestling in, it chirped, and began to close its eyes for a nap, having been tired from being thrown around in cold machines all day.

“Warmth, warmth, warm…”

Looking down at his hand, Liam grit his teeth, and just couldn’t go on any longer. Holding the poor little thing, he collapsed to his knees, bawling. Lewis, an older gentleman that’s been at the factory for years saw this and rushed over to him. Picking Liam up by the shoulder, he escorted him out the door towards the locker room.

Once they reached the benches, they sat down. Looking at his hand, Lewis asked, “Are you alright, ése?”

“He spoke to me! I swear to God he spoke to me!” Liam cried.

Lewis looked at the tiny chick in Liam’s hands, “I get it pal. Take the day off early and take your friend with you. I won’t fault you for it. Tons of us have done that. Lord knows how many I’ve stuffed in my pockets. Take tomorrow off too. It’s not a job meant for everyone.”

“But- but-.” Lewis stopped him, and patted Liam’s back. Mouthing the word ‘go’ Liam got up, grabbed his car keys from his locker, and drove home for the day.

Placing the chick in a box of newspapers, he placed his desk lamp overtop it. Grabbing a few sunflower and popcorn seeds, he crushed them with a rolling pin. Placing the feed with a small water bowl in the box, the chick began to eat.

Once it was done it looked at Liam and cheeped, “More? More? Will you bring home more?”

Still confused, Liam asked, “There’s more of you, that talk?”

“There’s always more. That’s why they think we’re undesirable.” The chick ruffled its feathers. “Will you please listen for us? Will you hear us?”

“I’ll do my best,” Liam said. Picking the chick out of the box, he went to sleep placing his new, feathery, housemate underneath his shirt for warmth. When he woke up in the morning, he made sure to leave enough feed, water, and that the lamp was on. Today he went to work without his earbuds.

There, he was on the conveyor line. Head down, separating eggshells, listening to hear another voice.

Author’s Notes: When I was writing “Father’s (Sins)Gift” I knew that it was going to break my heart writing it. So, I explored that sadness by watching videos that matched the imagery which my mind had created. If You’re interested as well, just research what happens to male chicks in the egg industry. Thank You for reading.