After a lot of thinking, Claire knew that she had to be honest with herself. Yes, she wanted a new life. A new life that was not full of failed tests, missed classes, short deadlines, and frustrating professors. A new life that was not equations and formulas and graphs and data. A new life that was not college.
She had tried it. Her parents' dream was for her to go to college like the rest of her siblings, despite that she barely scraped by in high school. Her parents want her to be a math major, that's fine with her. She wasn't good at anything else. Her parents want her to go to a fancy private school, that's fine with her. She doesn't prefer anywhere else over it. After that life of doing what was expected of her, of living someone else's life, of following someone else's dreams, Claire was ready, so ready, to stop feeling obligated, to stop feeling pressured, to stop feeling like someone else. Claire was ready to be Claire.
It didn't matter that she didn't know who Claire was, because she knew exactly who she wasn't. She wasn't a college student, that's for sure. And when the chance to escape the fake Claire came, she jumped at it. A cheap house that would sustain her, a job where she could work as hard or as little as she wanted, a town where her parents' influence could not reach. She chose to become a farmer.
Claire held on to her small suitcase, holding the top of her straw hat so that it wouldn't fly away in the wind, the ribbon soaring above her head and dancing above her. Her short curls framed her face, not long enough to get into her eyes but not short enough to not be a nuisance. She was a pretty girl, but wholly unremarkable. Her hair was plain brown, as were her eyes, which lacked the depth that most people's had. Her eyes held no secrets. Her clothing was simple and flattering, but her body was more like a twelve year old boy's than a twenty year old girl's. Average height, average weight. Claire wasn't anything special, or at least to the naked eye.
Somewhere along the way to the station, a small pixie, a fairy type creature, had flown across her line of sight. It came as a shock to her, because really, how many flying fairies are there? She watched it as it flew, gliding left to right, with seemingly no pattern. As it bumbled along, it bumped into a tall street sign that was sticking out onto the sidewalk. Claire laughed at the small creature, a sound that tinkled across the sidewalk and into the poor fairy's ears. He looked up at her with astonishment, seeing that she was laughing at him, at him. She made eye contact, then quickly darted her eyes, but not before the fairy saw.
"Are you Claire?"
Before the small creature could make his way to the girl, a heavy built man walked up to her, extending his hand.
"Um, yes sir, I am."
She reached out to shake his hand but he grabbed the suitcase instead.
"Hi, I'm Cain. Sorry I'm late. Becky was having a cow. Really though, having a cow," he laughed, a bellowing, full laugh that set Claire at ease. "She's a cow herself, you know. Now off we go."
Claire watched as he threw her suitcase in the back of a pickup truck full of hay.
"You'll have to ride back there. The passenger's seat doesn't have upholstery. I've been meaning to get that fixed..." he trailed off as he helped her in the back of the truck.
Claire quickly got settled on top of the bale of hay. It was much more comfortable than she expected, and it smelled nice, like summer and grass and sunshine.
The truck rumbled underneath her as she took one last look at the station. She had taken a train from her hometown to the middle of nowhere after finding an ad in the university newspaper. It was the last glimpse she would see of anything familiar, she hoped. Hoped with everything she had. And what she had left over she wished that somehow her new life would be more fulfilling than her old one, would be more of the real Claire.
Claire did not know how much time had passed. Cain had said something to her, but it had gotten lost in the wind, floating behind the truck along with little bits of hay and dust. Something was settled on her stomach, a light weight that shifted as she straightened up after her nap.
"Ouch! That hurt" the fairy said as he tumbled to the ground, landing on the bed of the truck with his little hat askew.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Claire exclaimed, scooping it up, not exactly sure what it was. "What are you?"
"I knew it!" the thing said, dancing above her palm. "You can see me! You can help me! We have to save the Harvest Goddess!"
Claire just looked at him with a blank stare.
"My name is Finn. I'm a Harvest Sprite."
Claire was glad to finally have a name for the creature. "Hi Finn, I'm Claire. I'm, um, a person. I'm a farmer."
"We're here!" Cain said as the truck made a final turn. A great plain was spread out in front of them, dotted with small black and white specs that Claire assumed were livestock. A great field of flowers was off to her left, bright yellow and red, and beyond the plain she could see mountains rising up until they met the clouds. The truck passed through a narrow opening in the fence and passed a large house, complete with a barn, a coop, and what looked to be a giant windmill. After passing over a bridge, the truck finally came to a shuddering stop in front of a large piece of property, where, perched on top of a hill, sat a house and two crumbling buildings.
Cain got out of the drivers side and reached back, setting the suitcase on the ground and then reaching for Claire's hand, helping her off the back of the truck.
"Thank you so much for the ride, Mr. Cain," she said, bowing with respect before grasping the handle of her bag.
"It was my pleasure. It's nice to have some new blood around here. Be sure to come by the ranch as soon as you can. We'll help you get started out here." Cain shook her hand one last time before returning to his truck and driving back the way he came.
Claire ran up the hill, dragging her suitcase behind her, Finn trailing in the dust, trying to keep up. She reached the peak and stood, breathing heavily, taking in the sight of her new home. It was crappy, really. There was no denying it. But it wasn't college. It wasn't her parents' lives, it wasn't her advisor's life, it was her life, her house, her property. And it was beautiful.
I know this is the beginning, but I have big plans for this story!
Please leave a review! Pretty please?
