Cider Press

/ Liz H-H
One bad apple can tip a balanced local economy in this whimsical 248-word story. Another Unicorn Challenge
© Ayr/Gray

Many thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E. Ayr for their photo prompt, THE UNICORN CHALLENGE.  (05/23/2025). No more than 250 words in length.

Me and my cargo have been waiting by the side of this road, near all day. The sun’s hot, ground’s dry, trees hard with the lack of rain, and Trevor never did show up this morning to drag us the rest of the way to the rail station, just a quarter of a mile away. The first and last train will have come and gone by now, I reckon.

You’d think there wouldn’t be so much competition in a small community like ours. Most of us get the wisdom behind a serviceberry economy* based on abundance and cooperation, in contrast to a competitive scarcity model. It works pretty well in our small community, where every member has their own unique and precious gift; we thrive not by a one-shot market of seal the deal, but by ongoing reciprocity of our gifts, including Nature’s gifts.

As they say, it only takes one bad apple to upset the cart, and in this case, the cart, my new and improved Souped-Up Cider Press, and the means to get my invention have been highjacked. Jennie G and I were going to pool resources—her orchard, my machine—and fully supply the town’s libation needs for the Harvest Festival, and on into the winter months. She was sweet on the idea, and I was sweet on her.   

As you can see, Cooper Brawn and Trevor locked me up tight inside of my convenience device; I’m not going anywhere. Seems the cooper’s sweet on Jenny, too.  

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2025)

*See Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World”, (2024) for a delightful, poetic read. Kimmerer is also the author of “Braiding Sweetgrass” (2013). Highly recommend both.

19 thoughts on “Cider Press”

  1. Wait, is the cart of cider kin to the cask of Amontillado? Is our hero merely stranded, or has he been cooped up by the cooper? Either way, he’s gonna need some cooperation!

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  8. awww, i LOVED this story. and truth be told, i started a very, very similar flash-fiction piece, but then ultimately decided to go for a poem. again. but this was such a sweet story and inspires feelings one gets from summer festivals, cider, and budding love. <3

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