Gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white, Angela peered over the edge and saw the outline of an island beginning to appear. Excitement rushed over her; that had to be the island where she was going to live. It had been a crazy spur of the moment decision. They were advertising a plot of farmland that hadn't been used in years. Angela had almost dropped her phone as she dialed the number and claimed the land. She wanted to cry when the mayor said it was hers. True, it was a crazy idea but she needed anything to get away from this hell of a life. Her thoughts strayed to him and it made her stomach churn. Taking a few steps back, and almost stumbling, Angela decided it was best not to stand near the edge of the boat while thinking of him. Rest, rest is what I need, she thought to herself. She headed down to her room but not before taking one last look at the outline of the island and a smiled made its way onto her face.
A violent storm appeared right before the ship reached the island. Angela, having never been on a boat before, retched up her dinner at the toss and turn of the waves. Trying to catch her balance, she stumbled about her tiny cabin but the combination of the rough waves and her lightheadedness finally caused her to collapse, nearly missing her tiny bed.
[linelineline]
When Angela finally woke up she discovered that she was now in a different room. It was very uniform and clean, Angela figured she must be in an inn. She swung her legs over the side and began to stand up when she felt as if her head was spinning. Angela grabbed the bed post to steady herself just as there was a knock on the door. A girl with strawberry-blonde peeked her head in.
"Oh! You're finally awake! Goody!" The girl opened the door all the way to reveal her waitress outfit. "You've been out for almost the whole day! It's lunch time. I came up here to see if you were awake. I'll bring some food, unless you want to come down to the restaurant and eat there. Grandma's making a delicious soup right now. I'm sure she give it to you for free. Oh! My name's Maya!" Angela was to overwhelmed by the girl's constant chatter to reply immediately.
"I... I'm Angela," she barely got her name out when Maya began to talk again. Angela cautiously followed her downstairs where she could smell something cooking. It smelled so delightful that it made Angela's mouth water instantly.
"It's really more of a cafe but we call it a restaurant. It's also got a bar but the bar isn't open right now-"
"Maya! Don't chat the poor girl's ear off! She just woke up!" A woman with short hair and a green dress approached them. She wore an apologetic smile.
"Sorry mom. I was just telling her about the Inn. I mean, she will be staying here right?"
Maya's mother shook her head. "No, she's the new farmer. The mayor told us she would be coming, remember?" A lightbulb went off in Maya's head and she turned to Angela with a big smile.
"Goody! We've been waiting for someone to take the ratty piece of land-"
"Maya!" the girl turned to her mother and bit down hard on her lip. "Why don't you see if Yolanda and Chase need help?" Maya nodded and hurried off to the kitchen. Her mother shook her head at her daughter. She turned back to Angela with another apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I'm Colleen and I run this Inn with my husband, Jake. Do you need anything?"
"Food?" Angela smiled sheepishly.
"Oh! Of course! We will get you some right away!" Colleen ushered her to a seat at the closest table. "It won't take a moment." The woman disappeared into the kitchen. Angela took the moment to take in the restaurant. It was a cute little place, clearly established on the small island, Angela loved it. Nothing in there reminded her of home, she could start over here without any worry.
"So you're the new farmer?" Angela turned to find a boy with reddish hair standing next to the table. He placed a tray down in front of her. It held a bowl of soup that made Angela's mouth water even more. "It's about time. The place is an eyesore. I'm Chase."
"Angela. You work here?"
"Yes, unfortunately I only wait tables. Enjoy the soup." With that Chase left, leaving Angela just a bit confused. She quickly brushed it off and went back to the hot soup in front of her. It had been a while since she had had a decent meal. Angela quickly eat her soup, the warmth of the soup rushed through her and made her feel better almost instantly. She had just finished her soup when a short man with grey hair wearing a blue suit came in. He noticed Angela and came over to her.
"Hello! I'm Mayor Hamilton. You must be the new farmer!" He beamed at her and Angela returned a slightly nervous smile.
"I'm Angela. I'm pleased to meet you."
"Oh this is just fantastic! That poor plot has been so unused. I'm so glad someone finally took up our offer! Well, I suppose you want to see your new home?" Angela nodded and a true smile came to her face. Her new home. Just the thought of a new home filled her with glee.
[linelineline]
The farm wasn't as run-down and ratty as Chase and Maya had made it seem. It was actually quite beautiful. It sat on a little cliff-like ledge right next to a beautiful. The barn and chicken coop were a bit decrepit, but the house was very livable. With a fresh coat of paint and a few improvements here and there, the tiny farmhouse would add to the natural beauty of the surrounding land. The simple plot of land made Angela all giddy with happiness. Already her new life was starting out better.
"The carpenters made some simple furniture for you, but you can always buy more later from them." Hamilton ushered Angela closer to her new home. Handing her the key, the mayor stood back and let the awe-struck girl take in the surroundings. Fumbling with the key, Angela finally opened the door and was a bit beauty of the outside did not transfer inside. While the inside was intact, with no obvious problems, it was bare wood. The house unmistakably handmade from the surrounding trees which themselves look wonderful, but with the white walls and wooden floor, along with the simple wooden furniture it was just a bit plain. Angela glanced around noticing a tiny kitchen in the back corner and a door which must have led to the bathroom. Angela let out a tiny sigh, she had hoped for a little more, but she was used to living in a city apartment tinier than this. She turned back to Hamilton with a big smile on her face.
"It's fantastic. I love it," the short mayor clapped his hands together in excitement.
"Great! You can make any improvements that you would like. The house and land are completely yours."
"Thank you so much. This is really great."
"No thank you, I'm sure this land will blossom with you here." Angela blushed a bit, she wasn't so sure about that. "Well I'll let you be, you probably need to step up." Hamilton bid her farewell and took off back to town. Angela went inside and gave a heavy sigh. She now had to move all furniture by herself.
After twenty minutes figuring out where to move her bed and actually moving it there, Angela was exhausted. She took on look at the rest of the furniture and collapsed on her new bed. It was actually quite comfy for the decent mattress, but she had slept on worse. Angela rolled to her side and reached into her backpack to retrieve a small framed photo. In the photo was a woman who looked very much like Angela except for the grey hair and premature wrinkles. Gathered around the woman was three young boys and of course Angela herself. Angela stroked the picture once and then pressed it to her chest. She missed them dearly, but she couldn't go back now.
"Angie? Why do you have to leave?" Angela quickly turned around to see the large eyes of her youngest brother standing in the bathroom doorway. Angela's hands were shaking terribly as she packed her toiletries.
"Because... because..." Tears sprang up in her eyes. He was only seven, there was no way that he would understand.
"Because she can't live with us forever," their mother came in and placed a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Everyone has to grow up and leave eventually. Even you Clive." The young boy looked up at his mother and frowned.
"But I don't wanna grow up! I'm gonna stay a kid forever!" Clive turned back to his older sister. "Angie I don't want you to leave." Angela knelt down to Clive's height and ruffled his hair.
"I don't want to go either. I wish I could stay." Clive still wasn't happy with her answer.
"If you don't wanna, why don't you stay?" Angela gave a half-hearted chuckle and hugged her youngest brother.
"Because I can't..."
Tears weld up in Angela's eyes but she tried to swallow them back. She was going to be stronger now. She couldn't be the emotional wreck that she had been before. Her new life would go nowhere if she couldn't keep her emotions in check. Angela sat up and placed the photo on the bed. She took another look at the clump of wooden furniture that sat in the middle of her house. Sighing, Angela forced herself off of the suddenly extremely comfy bed. Sadly, the house wasn't going to set its self up.
With her new house set up and all the minimal amount of her old belongings put in place, Angela realized how hard it was going to be living on her own. She had only lived with her family, and since she had insisted are bringing a little of her past with her, leaving her with an almost empty house. Angela was about to collapse again on her bed when a knock came at the door. Wondering who the hell could already be knocking at her door, Angela went to open it. Behind the door was a tall girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.
"Howdy! I'm Kathy!" The girl seemed warm despite the fact that she reminded Angela of girls who attended her high school that she did not associate with.
"I'm Angela. Um, you can come on in." Kathy handed the confused girl a covered dish.
"Dad thought you might want something good for your first dinner here." Angela took the greatly appreciated dish as Kathy wandered in. "This place is cute... but kinda barren."
"I know, I didn't bring much with me."
"Well, I think you should celebrate your new life here." Angela looked at Kathy in confusion. Her new life? "Why don't you come down to the with me? I'm sure dad with let you have a few free drinks, since it's your first night here."
"Bar?" Angela could feel herself tense up, though Kathy didn't seem to notice. She hadn't had a drop of alcohol in months, it wasn't like she had been an alcoholic, but her ex had...
"Oh, you're not a drinker? Well dad could make some virgin drinks for you." Kathy hadn't expected Angela to not be a drinker, it hadn't even crossed her mind. Everyone has to wind down right?
"No it's fine. I just... haven't had a drink in a while. Been too busy." It wasn't exactly a lie, she had been busy trying to pull her life together, plus it helped that her mother had sworn off alcohol after Angela's second brother was born. Kathy perked up a bit and grabbed her hand.
"Well come on then! You can meet dad and some of the other islanders!" Angela nearly fell over and Kathy pulled her along. The blonde girl had a huge smile on her face, and Angela felt as if she had made her first friend here.
Angela was almost out of breath when they got to the Inn. Kathy had practically run the whole way, dragging Angela the entire way there. The two had to stop and catch their breaths before going inside.
"Sorry about that. I was just so excited." Angela looked at the other girl who was nothing like her skimpy clothing.
"It's fine. I needed that burst of energy." Kathy smiled and patted her on the back.
"Well let's go in. I'm sure people will want to meet you." Once again Kathy grabbed Angela's hand and pulled her into the Inn. It was a completely different atmosphere at night. It was warmer, more relaxed atmosphere, not that the Inn wasn't inviting, it just felt more comforting. Kathy pulled Angela into a seat and then went behind the bar. A balding man with a semi-scruffy beard turned to Kathy.
"Is this the new farmer?"
"Yep!" The blonde girl turned back to Angela with her smile still as big as before. "Angela, this is my dad Hayden, we run the bar together."
"It's nice to meet you."
"So what will you have?" Kathy interrupted her dad, who just shook his head and turned to the other customers. Angela couldn't help but chuckle a bit.
"What do you recommend?" With that remark, Angela thought she saw Kathy's smile get even bigger.
"Well..."
"She recommend anything that she can make. Which is about three drinks." Angela whipped around to see who had spoken. Standing behind her was a tall guy with bronze hair. It was obvious that he worked out or something. Normally, Angela went for lean guys, but something about him made Angela's heart flutter a bit. It made her feel like she was back in middle school with a crush. He wore a cocky smirk on his face as he slid into the seat next to Angela.
"Shut up. I can make quite a few drinks." Kathy scowled at him.
"Doesn't mean they're any good." Kathy's scowl deepened as his smirk widen. His eyes flitted over to Angela and he turned his attention to her. "Sorry, I'm being rude. I'm Owen."
I don't own Harvest Moon. Please enjoy this reboot and please review.