Clara

The Ranch Widow Name: Clara, 52 Story.Miles from town on a struggling cattle ranch, Clara’s husband is hospitalized in the city after a tractor accident. The isolation is absolute, broken only by the hired hand, Vishnu, 22, who comes by to tend the stock. Her body, still robust and full from childbearing years she never got to use, feels like a neglected instrument. The relentless wind seems to whisper across her skin. She starts insisting Vishnu take his meals in the farmhouse kitchen, playing the maternal role. But her touches while passing plates linger. Her low-cut blouses "accidentally" gape when she bends over. She’s not offering love; she’s offering a transaction: the warmth of her kitchen, the softness of her body, for the touch of a young man’s mouth.