Chapter One: Home
The room was musty, with a faint whisper of long-forgotten cinnamon lingering on the dust. Lillian's hands trailed across the crisp, faded curtains as she drew them open. The view was what she had imagined it would look like now, long grass waved at the thin vines which had started to rust out the drain pipes on the roof. Beyond the grass it was heavily wooded, tall oaks, pines and yews.
It needed work, but it felt nice to be home after so long.
It hadn't been quite the entrance Lillian had hoped for, though. Her journey from the city to the mountain had been easy, and she wasn't sure what had happened to make her lose focus and fall off her horse. The last thing she remembered before seeing Ina's face was wondering how people would feel about her return. And whether they would even remember her at all. Isis, her white pony, had stopped as soon as she fell and had made such a commotion that Rutger and Ina had both left the cooking festival to see what had happened. After an awkward conversation which felt more like a competition than the festivals did, Lillian chose to live in Konohana. It was far from a spontaneous decision, she was on her way to Konohana.
As she remembered yesterday, her pounding head reminded her of what needed to be done today. After spending the night at the town hall with Ina, Lillian had completed the transaction. Lillian had purchased her old family home. Ina had allowed the sale to be completed for next to nothing, so long as Lillian assured her that she would use the farm to benefit the village. A friend of hers had informed her that it had been on the market since her family moved and it was time for her to come home. But now that she was here she could see how much had changed, how much people had changed, and how much of a commitment this place was going to be. She wondered if she had done the right thing. She had finished studying environmental science in the city a year ago, before working for the city's beautification council. She worked there with Reina, a childhood friend who had ended up studying some courses with her at uni. It was after Reina moved that she realised how lonely she felt. And it was after she told Reina this that she decided she would be moving back home.
Lillian started to feel dizzy standing, so she went back to her bed and laid her head on the dusty pillow. She rolled over to find small green mould growing on the pillow and she quickly sat up. As she did, she heard a deep knocking at the door. The door was heavy, and it stuck when she tried to open it.
"Just a second," she moaned, "this stupid door is all screwed up".
"Hang on," came a deep voice. "Step back for a minute!"
Lillian moved to the side, not sure who that voice belonged to, but hoping they could fix the damn door. Seconds later there was a huge scraping noise and a cloud of dust blew into the air. Behind the dust stood a young man, with tribal armband tattoos and a scruffy ponytail. He looked at her, smiling.
He still has a nice smile, she thought.
Ina walked past both of them, and with an air of hurriedness waved at the man.
"Lillian, this is Kana. He runs the animal shop here. He's fixed up your cart and patched up your horse for you. I'm sorry but I have to get going, Ayame is freaking out because there's been an injury and I need to get to the clinic immediately."
With that, Ina sped out of the house, and left behind her a silence which Lillian didn't know how to break. Fortunately, she didn't have to.
Kana grabbed her by the hand, "Come with me, I'll show you what I've done!"
His hands were rough but his grip was gentle. Just outside of her door was her cart, looking worse for wear but better than she expected.
"I patched it up with some timber I had around. It's not perfect, but I wanted to get this to you as soon as I could. As for..."
"Isis!" Lillian exclaimed as her horse nuzzled into her shoulder. "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt!"
Kana smiled. He had nice teeth. And the same smirk he had before Lillian had moved to the city.
"Yeeeeeah she's fine! I kept her in my stable last night, but only because you couldn't be here. I think she's glad to be home!"
"So am I!" Lillian blushed as she realised what she had said. Her right hand moved to her head, which was pounding harder than it had been before. As she moved her hand, she noticed one of Kana's dark brown eyebrows was raised.
"Are you sure you're okay, Lillian?" he asked.
"I'll be fine. More of a bruised ego than anything else," she muttered.
She hadn't meant to be funny, but hearing Kana laugh made her feel much better.
"Anyway, how much do I owe you? You really have done such a wonderful job..."
Kana laughed again. It was deep but light. "Nothing, Lillian. I'll be calling in all sorts of requests from your farm, so I wouldn't be worried about giving me anything!" He winked as he ran his hand through his hair. Lillian bit her lip, then smiled.
"Listen, I have to get back to the shop. If you need anything though, just ask! I'll be around."
He turned and started walking down the long, dirt driveway.
"Kana?" Lillian asked and he turned back to face her. "Thankyou for everything."
He smiled and waved to her before leaving. "I'll fix that door properly for you one day!"
After putting Isis into her stable for the night, Lillian went back inside. She was tired, although she had not done much today, her head still hurt and she was feeling ill. She kicked the pillows off the bed and rested her head on her old blanket. As she closed her eyes, she could feel her stomach rumble.
Meh... I cannot be bothered making food for myself tonight.
She could feel herself falling asleep when she hearing knocking at the door.
"It's open," she yelled, not moving from her spot.
She heard the door creak open. "Lillian! Are you okay?"
Lillian opened her eyes to see Reina standing at the end of her bed.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine" she said while rubbing her eyes. "What's up? It's nice to finally see you!"
"I could say the same to you!" she said, laughing. "I brought you some food, it's just some Daikon Salad and Mushroom Pasta, but I thought it would help for a couple of days" she said, while putting the food in the fridge.
"Reina..." Lillian started.
"Lillian, don't you dare thank me. You used to do this for me all the time at uni!" she smiled. "I'm not here to stay long... I figured you'd be tired. Plus I have to go back and help Mako prepare some specimens for tomorrow. I just wanted to know how today went."
Lillian thought about it for a moment. She thought of getting her cart back, of Isis being okay, and of her time with Kana.
"I didn't think Kana would still be living here."
Reina crossed her arms. "Lillian..."
"My day was good Reina! It was great! Magnificent!"
Reina widened her stance, and started tapping the floor softly with her left foot. "Did Kana know who you were?"
Lillian could feel her face get hot. She focused on Reina's feet. "I don't think so."
"He is an idiot, Lillian. There's a reason you never got together. Please just remember that."
Lillian kept staring at Reina's foot until it stopped tapping.
"Alright, well I'm gonna head home. Let me know if you need anything."
"Will do. Tell that uncle of yours I say hello."
"I will..." Reina looked Lillian in the eyes. "Sleep well okay?"
"Thanks Reina. Can you turn the light off on your way out please?"
Reina smiled back at Lillian as she turned the light off and closed the door. Lillian's eyes were heavy and her head was throbbing. As she lay on the bed, she closed her eyes and ran Reina's words through her mind. There was a reason she never ended up with Kana. But to Lillian, it hadn't changed what she felt.
