Page 60 - Litteratteur Redefining World December issue

Litterateur redefining world December 2020

Sunburn

Martin Toman

Martin Toman is a writer of contemporary fiction who lives in
Melbourne, Australia. He studied at the Australian National University
and the University of Canberra before becoming a teacher of English
Literature. Martin has been published online and in print, and recently
in publications such as Minute Magazine, Across the Margin, Anti-
Heroin Chic, Fresh Ink, The Raven Review, Haunted Waters Press, The
Adelaide Literary Review, and Literally Stories.
The sun beat down. Hot air blasted into the cabin through the open windows. It was a
long drive back to the vineyard from town, made dangerous by the rutted road. William
bounced around on the bench seat, concentrating on avoiding the channels carved out
of the surface by heavy winter rains, the mud long since dried hard by the summer sun.

He had made this trip a few times in the past months. He knew that if his mind
wandered he could put a wheel deep into a rut, lose control of the vehicle and end up in
a ditch or over the edge of the road. If he wasn’t killed he’d have to call Roberto to get
pulled out by the tractor. It wasn’t worth contemplating. So all he thought about was the
road: his hands on the wheel, his feet on the pedals, being in control.

William had worked at the vineyard for nearly half a year, from the end of the winter
until now, high summer and harvest. He was on a working visa, a twelve month deal. It
sounded so easy when the agency sold him the package. Find a sponsor, get a working
visa and get paid for six months, and then a lump sum when the term is up. Then you
were free to travel for the next half year on your earnings, an easy way to see the world.
The vineyard looked idyllic on the internet, described as rustic but beautiful, and the
owner seemed nice in the email correspondence they had shared. So he provided the
ID and filled in the forms on the website. In three clicks he sold himself to six months of
servitude, and all that went with it.

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