Every Cow is Dying.

Dad called a family meeting on a Sunday afternoon, right after church. Even though we all knew things were bad, it hit us hard when we jumped on the video call and saw dad's sad face.

Dad got right to the point: "All the cows are sick." It was clear that he had been crying. "They got the monas." Holding biofilms in place. They still have two years, which is good news.

We couldn't see Mom's face because she turned away from the camera. My heart stopped beating. After two years, it was over.

Little Kenny spoke up in the silence. He said, "I'm going to miss Grandma Ju." That made my heart hurt. Things were already tough when Kenny was born, so he didn't get his own young cow. He got Grandma Ju instead, who is the old leader of the group. No one was meant to own her, so we kept her as a pet after her kids were grown up because we didn't want to mulch her. Then she came through when Kenny was born.

"Sweetheart, we'll miss all of them." Mom said, and her voice broke. She sent Kenny an emoji of a hug. Kenny was only five years old, so he couldn't understand. Who knew? All of our cows might not live as long as his. She possibly had antibodies from the last mononucleosis plague, which happened almost one hundred years ago, which could help her live longer.

"We're thinking about selling all of our farm equipment and only keeping the things we need. We'll use the money to live comfortably for as long as we have left." Have some fun, you know. It was a shock to hear my mom say that…