Chapter 1—Mineral Town
I was never ever dreamt on living in a farm with animals and plants. I have never dreamt to leave all that I have behind. Twenty years old, my name is Veronica, a prospective farmer in Mineral Town. My hair is yellow, shining by the sunlight and I had large blue eyes. People called me beautiful, but I have never been truly interested in men.
There's no airport around the country so I went by ship to the town. A fisherman named Greg cheerfully let me to abide in his fishing ship and so I befriend him. Mineral Town is a small town, laced remotely from cities where I once belong. I have a special memory about this town.
Once when I was a child, I and my parents went somewhere near here for a holiday and then I was lost. A kind old farmer in Mineral Town then helped me and then let me stay with him during the summer holiday. When the holiday was over, my parents picked me up and I promised the grandfather to write him a letter regularly and I did. Years after, six months before today, I received a letter from Mayor Thomas that grandfather has died and leaving his farm for me.
Finishing college early, I decided to give myself some adventure. I have cherished the memories I have when I was a child in that farm and decided that I would like to be a farmer. By the way, I recalled I have met a boy back then that plays with me in the farm. I wonder if he's still in the Mineral Town. But, duh, even he is there, I don't think we will recognize each other anyway. It's been more than ten years since I have met him and not a single letter we wrote to each other. We even never knew each other's name.
Mr. Greg sings a lot of song as we travelled to Mineral Town. The ocean was deep and blue. The water was very clear that I could see the sand in the bottom of the sea. It's really beautiful. I sighed and smiled to the fishes and Mr. Greg grinned as he saw me did.
"It's only the beginning Vero," he smiled. "Don't expect the farm to be good as it was though. It was really in bad condition and if you decided to work on it, it'll take time. There's no one to help you here, people are busy with their own business."
The fresh wind of morning swept my cheek with its gentle bluster, "Aye, aye, sir," I replied with a smile, "It may take forever but if I'm determined to work on it, I will."
Mr. Greg laughed, "That's good, Miss Farmer!"
I smiled and enjoying the great view before me.
Mr. Greg told me about the people and the young men and young women. There are five young men and five young women here and a pair of children. There's no school there so Pastor Carter would take care of their education.
The men named Doctor—as you can see, he's a doctor—, then Rick who work in his family's Poultry Farm, Gray, the blacksmith's grandson, Kai who lives in another town and went to Mineral Town only in summer, and the last one is a newcomer named Cliff. Amongst the boys only Rick who's the native inhabitant of Mineral Town. The girls, unlike the boys are mostly native to Mineral Town. Popuri is Rick's sister and worked also in Poultry Farm, Karen worked in her father's supermarket, Ann worked in her father's Inn, Elli is a nurse and worked in the Clinic as Doctor was and the newcomer is Mary and she have a library.
I remember none of the names, so it doesn't concern me unless that I have insight about the people I will meet.
We arrived at noon, so we have our lunch onboard. I made some sandwiches and cupcakes before we left the shore and I found it necessary to bring food along with us. Mr. Greg praised my cooking though I felt it was really simple to make.
Mr. Greg lives with a shipper named Zack on the beach and so I, dependant n my memory as a child, bid him good day and went on by myself to the town.
Mineral Town hasn't really changed since I was a child. The air, the view, all was the same. The old bulletin board in the Rose Square was newly painted, but it's always been the same. I recalled there's a farmer named Barley living on the south of the square and so I went south.
It's Monday and I read that the store was closed and I went to the right and found Poultry Farm where Rick, Popuri and their mother lives—as Mr. Greg said. The farm was planted with corn and I can hear the noises of chicken at the background. A yellow haired young man soon came out of the house and as he walked, he recognized me and smiled warmly. He wore green sweatshirt with blue apron and wears large glasses on his face.
"Hi, there. A visitor?" he asked.
"No, actually I'm a new farmer here. The name is Vero," I said, a little shy.
"Oh, I'm Rick, nice to meet you," he said with another warm smile. "I'm living here with my mother and younger sister. Well, it must be though for you to be a farmer here by yourself. Good luck."
"Thanks," I said and then bid him farewell. I continued my way to the old farm. It was a beautiful farm, filled with corps and wonderful flowers when I was a child. Now it was not more than a miniature jungle set before my eyes. I was shocked by the scene, but I know that he has died for six months. The farm was hardly looks like a farm now.
"Hey, you!" I turned to find a little man with red outfit running towards me in anger. I didn't recognize this man, so I stood dumbly as he approached. "The owner of this farm died a while back. You can't just come waltzing here!"
I turned around and said my thought aloud. "I knew that he had died, sir. I'm Veronica. The Mayor told me to come and take care of the farm," I said in hurry, trying to show my innocence. It was silence after my brief speech then little man looked at me in a slight surprise and then laughed.
"Oh, well, forgive my rudeness. I'm Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town," he introduced. "I found the will addressed to you a month ago when I cleaned his house. I'm the one who wrote the letter to you, but I don't expect you to be this young."
I don't know what to say.
"Alright," he said with nods. "Freely take your time here, Miss Veronica. Do you mind if I explain a thing or two about the farm?"
I said I will be glad to and then he showed me the barn, the chicken coop, the apple tree, the river, explained me the farm's surroundings, the land itself and then the house and where all the farming tools were kept after the death of its owner.
"That's all I can tell you," he said, stopped before the small cabin. "I will tell Zack to come by tomorrow and tell you about stuff he will handle. Here's the town's map and the keys for the buildings."
He handed me a newly printed map. Everything I wanted to know was written diligently. The stores and their open times were written as well as the names of the people living here. I thanked him and he told me to be prepared for tomorrow. "Contact me if you need any help," he said seriously.
"Thank you to show me around," I said sincerely with a smile.
"I should have thanked you instead," said the little mayor, "This farm has been our pride till the owner died. I don't want to burden you, but if you can make this farm as good as it was..." he shook his head and smiled. "See you later, good day."
"See you later, sir," I said.
I entered the cabin with the keys I got before and found quite a dusty scene before me. I coughed and sneezed as I entered the house and lit the lamp. It was quite comfortable here—if there is no dust. There is a bed for one person, a nice bathroom, a small table and two chairs, a fireplace, a bookshelf, a television that still can be used—because I tried to turn it on and it did well—and a small kitchen with a frying pan and a pot. There's no wardrobe to keep the clothes or cupboard in the kitchen. There's no fridge either. It was a small cabin after all and it wasn't changed much since my childhood.
I took a deep breath of satisfaction and sneezed as the result.
The first thing I did is to leave my belongings outside and opened the door wide, then swept the dust away from the house. It takes a lot of time and the dust filled the air and also filled the sky above the cabin. I coughed and sneezed all the time till it was finished. The second thing I did is to wipe the dust and mop the floor by the mop I found along with the broom by the bedside.
My back ached and before I realized, it was five in the evening already. The sun was red and getting ready to set in the west. I bring my belongings in and closed the door then lock it. I took a simple shower after that.
Soon I realized I was hungry and, recalling the inn on the map, I decided to go to the inn to buy some food. I bring my rucksack along and checked if I had enough money to eat and then left the house. It was six pm and it was dark already. I felt lucky to bring a lamp along with me and after locking the door, I hummed cheerfully as I walked according to the map.