Chapter I

"Thank you, Mayor. I really appreciate you helping me around town." I said, smiling.

"It's no problem, really! It's what I'm here for. A small town like this doesn't often have need for a mayor, so I'm glad I could help someone." He said, enthusiastically.

"It's… been a long time since I've been here, so I'm afraid I've lost my orientation a little." I said whilst looking down at my shoes. Had it really been ten years?

"In that case, why don't you let me give you this map? It shows all the establishments here in Mineral town, as well as the times they open and close. I think you'll find it useful for sure." He said as he handed me a small sheet of paper.

"Be sure to remind me to repay you for your kindness." I smiled, putting the map in my rucksack.

"No need! However, I might encourage you to enter a few animals into the contests we have throughout the year." He said, winking. "Now, I'm sure you have a lot of unpacking to do. I'll leave you be, but be sure to come to me if you have any questions, alright?"

"For sure." I said, nodding.

"Oh, and Alice? Be sure to introduce yourself to the people in town, as they'll definitely want to meet you."

I took a mental note to do so later, and walked back into my house as the Mayor left my property.

That's right.

It was MY property now. He had left it to me, all those years ago. He told me to come back, and I did, every summer until ten years ago. I had to finish school, work, and earn money… We wrote to each other, though, until one day he never wrote back. I got a letter from the Mayor later, saying that he had died peacefully in his sleep, simply from old age. Later in the letter, it told us that he had left me his farm and everything on it, including the money he had saved up, which was not much.

It was enough, though, mind you. Enough to start up to farm and buy a few chickens to start, along with feed and incubators. Plus, the money I had saved up from working all those summers did have its advantages. I decided to come here and live on the farm, away from the city instead of selling it for a few reasons; the property in its entirety meant the world to me. So many memories of us fishing along the stream, tending the crops in the fields, or even collecting the apples from the tree close to the house. The days were calming, but the nights were better. It was always quiet and dark, away from all the light pollution from the cities. It was… magical. It was the kind of state of being that washed away your worries and replaced them with feelings of peace.

After a couple hours of reminiscing and unpacking, I decided to take a break and do just what the Mayor told me I should do; meet the people of Mineral town. Walking off my property, I decided to head down first to the poultry store, where I'd most likely be buying my chickens.

A girl with soft pink hair came out into the yard with chicken grain in a small silver bucket. I stopped by the gate and observed how she fed them. They came right up to her, jumping for the feed in the bucket. As soon as she was done, she looked up and caught my gaze.

"Oh! You must be the new girl!" she said, smiling.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" I said quizzically.

"Well," she said, thinking. "the mayor said you'd be short and have blonde hair. And he said you'd been here before, and everybody knows everybody here. Plus, we don't get a lot of visitors from around here, so I guessed."

"Well, you'd be correct. I was wondering if I'd be able to buy a couple chickens for my coop?" I asked.

"Yeah! Just let me get my brother Rick… he should be inside." She was about to walk in before poking her head back out. "By the way, my name's Popuri!"

"I'm Alice." I said, smiling.

I waited by the chickens as she went to go get her brother. Moments later, she came out with a brown-haired taller man, the look of exhaustion plastered on his face.

"Hey, I'm Rick. My sister told me you wanted to buy a couple chickens?"

I nodded. "I'm Alice. And yeah, I figured that starting out with a few chickens is best."

"And you'd be absolutely correct. So, we'll help you put your chickens in your coop, along with some feed. Does that sound alright?"

"Yeah! That sounds fantastic. So… how much will all that be?"

"Well, since you're new here, I'll give you a discount. How does 200G sound for all of it together?"

"Thank you so much! That's… really very nice of you. If ever I can repay you, please, just let me know."

He smiled. "That won't be necessary. I'll carry them over now, if you'd like?"

"That's perfect. Can I help you carry something?"

"If you can, could you carry a chicken?"

"Yeah! I'll do my best…"

We both picked up a chicken from the pen, after a bit of struggling. We both walked together to my farm, carrying a chicken each.

"So, Rick, who else is in this town? What do they do?" I asked.

"Well, there's the doctor, who has his clinic up in the north end with Elli, his assistant. There's Karen, who works in the General Store with her mom, Sasha, and her dad, Jeff. Saibara and Gray, his grandson, own the blacksmith shop together. Barley and May, his granddaughter, work at the livestock store in town, next door to us. Mary owns the library in town, and Doug and Ann own the Inn."

"That's a lot to rememeber…" I said, shaking my head.

"Hah, yeah, but I think once you've lived here for a while, it all becomes easier to remember."

"I hope so." I sighed, putting the chicken down in the coop. I stood up straight and stretched my arms. "Thank you for helping me out today, by the way. I really appreciate it."

"No problem." Rick said. "You should probably go see the doctor next though, just so he knows about you in case of an emergency."

"I think I'll do that." I said.

"I'll see you later, alright?" he said, walking out.

"Yeah, for sure."

I went back inside my house, washing my hands and face, before leaving my property and heading towards the north of town to go see the doctor, as Rick had suggested. I walked up to the building with the sign "clinic" in front. As I was about to walk up to the steps, a tall man with shaggy, black hair walked out. He was looking down at some papers when he stopped and picked his head up, looking straight at me.

"You must be Alice." He said softly. "I'm the doctor. How may I help you?"