The Hum Behind Nuri

At seven in the morning, Nuri stands at the orchard gate. The air smells of apples and cold earth. Thirty pickers wait in a loose group. Most of them wear old coats and thick gloves.

Hedy stands next to her. They are in the same class at school. Today is their first picking day. Both girls need the money.

The farm boss climbs onto a wooden box. He holds up a small grey machine. It has four arms, and a fan on each one.

"This is new," he says. "It is a drone. It follows one person and carries the crate."

Some pickers laugh. Others lean closer to look.

"We have only one," the boss says. "It follows a yellow wristband, and nothing else. So one picker gets it today."

Nuri stares at the machine. It looks like a large fly. She wants to touch it.

"Here is the plan," the boss says. "The north rows have the tallest trees. The apples there are big and sweet. A picker with the drone works alone, and works fast. You fill more crates, so you earn more."

He points the other way. "The south rows have small trees. Two people share one ladder and one crate. That is slower. But it is a good job too."

He looks at the group. "The youngest picker chooses first. That is my rule. Who is the youngest?"

"Me," says Nuri. "By one month."

"Then you choose. North with the drone, or south with a partner?"

Nuri looks at Hedy. Hedy looks at the ground.

"Take the band," Hedy says quietly. "You want that new camera. Go and earn it."

"What about you?"

"I find another partner. It is not a problem."

The boss holds out the yellow band. "Five minutes," he says. "Then you stay with your choice all day."

Nuri walks to the fence and thinks. The north is a good option. She can fill many crates and buy the camera sooner. She likes to work fast. She likes quiet, too. And the drone is really cool.

The south is a good option too. She knows Hedy. She knows Hedy sings badly and tells long jokes. A day with her is never boring. But the pay is smaller. The camera costs a lot, and it must wait.

She counts on her fingers. North, south. Money, friend. Fast, slow. Nothing is wrong with either answer.

She walks back to the boss. She feels strange and light.

"I choose the south," she says. "With Hedy."

Hedy looks up and smiles.

"Fine," the boss says. He turns. He gives the band to the man in the green cap. "Then it is yours."

The man puts it on his wrist. The drone lifts up and follows him with a happy hum. Everybody claps.

The south rows are quiet and green. The trees are short, and the apples hang low. Hedy climbs the ladder first. Nuri holds it and gives her the empty bag.

"Catch!" Hedy says. She drops an apple, and Nuri catches it with one hand.

"Gold medal," Nuri says.

"Gold apple," says Hedy. "It goes in the crate."

They work well together. Hedy picks. Nuri holds, counts and lifts the full bags. After an hour, they change places. Nuri climbs. The ground looks small from the top. The whole orchard smells sweet.

At ten o'clock, they take a break. They sit on the empty crate and look across the hill. Far away, in the north rows, a grey shape moves between trees. It hums, a thin high sound, like a fly.

"Look at him," Hedy says. "He picks, the drone follows, and he never talks to it."

"Maybe the drone is a good listener."

They laugh until their stomachs hurt.

At noon, the man in the green cap comes down the hill. The drone hums behind him with a crate of apples. He sits on the grass near their ladder. The drone floats just above his shoulder.

"May I sit here?" he asks. "Nobody talks to me on that hill. Only this thing hums at me."

"Sit down," says Nuri. "Do you want some cheese?"

"Yes, please."

They share their lunch. "I have a daughter," he says. "She is nine." He points at the drone. "This thing follows me everywhere."

Hedy laughs so hard that she drops her sandwich. The drone moves in a small circle. It seems to find this funny.

"It is fast, though," the man says. He looks at his full crate. "I have eleven already."

"We have six," says Nuri.

"Six is good for two people."

"It is good," Hedy agrees, "and it is more fun."

After lunch, the work gets harder. The sun is hot on their backs. One branch near the top has the best apples. Hedy leans out to reach them. The ladder shakes.

Nuri holds the ladder with both hands. "I have you," she says. "Take your time."

Hedy takes the apples one by one. Her face is serious. She comes down slowly, with her bag full.

"Thank you," she says. Her voice is small. "I do not like that branch."

"I know."

At five o'clock, the boss counts the crates. The man in the green cap has twenty-one. Nuri and Hedy have fourteen. That is seven each. The pay is less than half of his.

Nuri looks at the numbers. For a moment, she feels a small pain. The camera will wait another month.

Then Hedy puts a gold apple in her hand. It is the one from the morning, still shiny.

"You keep it," Hedy says. "It's for the camera."

Nuri laughs. She holds the apple up against the sky. The sun is low. Behind them, the drone hums its way toward the shed.

"Hedy," she says. "Does the boss let two people share one drone?"