One

I reached up to wipe sweat from my brow as I drug my suitcase along the cobblestone path. The sun was beating down on my head, and I began to think that I may have made a mistake picking out my clothes this morning. In preparation for my move, I had selected a plain but sturdy dress I thought would be well suited for farming. The fact that it was multicolored saved it from being completely drab, but it was a far cry from my usual wardrobe. But today was the start of another life entirely, so maybe it was time to reinvent myself altogether.

The idea put some spring in my step and I marched with renewed vigor towards the imposing indigo building in the distance. Inside it, I was supposed to be greeted by a woman named Veronica, whom I had spoken to on the phone several times. When I put in my application for the open position in Oak Tree Town, she was the one who had contacted me, about a week later. After speaking for about twenty minutes it what could loosely be defined as a phone interview, she had offered me the job. I was more than a little surprised at the time given the way the conversation had gone.

"Why should I choose you when I have applicants who are much older and have relevant experience?" she had challenged, and I had scrambled for a decent reply.

Truth be told, if I was her, I probably would have gone with someone else if that was in fact true. But the fact that she had taken the time to call and speak to me anyway was a nice gesture. Thinking I didn't have a chance in the world, I relaxed and said what naturally came to mind.

"I would make up for my youth with enthusiasm," I said, "and as for experience, I'm a quick learner. No one is more motivated than I am."

She had paused on the other side of the line, and then continued her line of questioning. From what I could tell, she seemed very to the point and concise. The type of person who would probably be intimidating in person. My dress was practically stuck to my skin in places from sweating, and I wished I could change before I met her. I didn't want her to think me horribly out of shape, especially in this line of work. But there was nothing to be done for it now, as I couldn't very well wonder around town looking for a room to change in.

I finally reached the building's door and stood beneath the overhang for a second, catching my breath. Whoever built this town was a little too fond of stairs. I reached for the door handle, awkwardly holding it open with one arm as I drug my suitcase across the threshold. For the hundredth time, I wondered who I'd be working for at the ranch I was going to. Surely whoever it was would put me to work gardening in the fields or tending the animals. I had no qualms with manual labor; I was going to do everything in my power to be successful here.

Immediately to my right was a large room filled by two long couches and a coffee table with magazines stacked on top of it, so I imagined it was meant to be a waiting room. A few feet away was a tall brown desk with a tall brown haired woman standing behind it, and she was staring at me with calculating eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and she wore a conservative blue dress that swished back and forth as she started towards me, so the material couldn't be as heavy as it looked.

"Are you Annie?" she asked.

I cleared my throat and tried to sound professional. "Yes, but I prefer to go by my middle name," I replied, surprising myself. I did no such thing, I had always gone by Annie, but altering myself to the point of having a different name seemed right to me. She raised her eyebrows at me, and I realized my hesitation.

"It's Candy," I said.

"What an unusual name." Her voice betrayed no real emotion, and I thought this woman would be an excellent poker player.

"I'm Veronica," she said, confirming my suspicion. "I'm glad that you arrived safely. How was the trip?"

"Long," I said. "I see. And how are you finding Oak Tree Town?"

I decided to keep my comment about the stairs to myself and say, "It's very pretty. I love how all the building are different colors. It adds personality."

She nodded one and smiled at me faintly for the first time. "Very good. Well I'm sure you're eager to begin your training, so if you'll follow me I'll take you to Madame Eda."

She started towards the door, and I wanted to groan aloud at the prospect of more walking. I hadn't seen a single car anywhere around here, or a real paved road for that matter. It was like instead of moving to a different town, I'd gone to a different time in history altogether. We passed by what Veronica told me was an Inn and a General Store, crossed a bridge and were suddenly met by open stretches of rolling green land. I inhaled a deep breath, noting how clean and fresh the air smelled.

It was definitely different than the city, and far more beautiful. She took a right at the fork in the path and we ended up by two large fields brimming with crops; whoever was tending them obviously used great care.

"We only have one trader that comes to do business with us at the moment," Veronica said suddenly, "We're hoping that with the combined exports of the five farmers in our town – yourself included – we can interest others in coming here to do the same. There are many things you could possibly ship, but Madame Eda will tell you the specifics."

I was trying to listen carefully to her words but it was somewhat difficult as the path we took had suddenly take a very steep uphill turn and if I spoke I feared my breath would betray me.

"Oh," I managed.

After several more minutes of this, I had to stop, beyond caring what she thought. She turned when she stopped hearing me follow, and surprisingly I saw empathy in her expression, instead of the judgement I'd been expecting. "Tired? These kinds of paths are all over the mountain. The farm you'll be taking over is at the top of a hill, so I expect you'll get used to it eventually."

She linked her hands in front of her, content to wait for me to catch my breath. "I'm sure I will," I agreed when I could be trusted to speak. S

he nodded again and gestured for me to follow. As we went, I pondered her words. Taking over? Maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding . . . I always assumed I would be working with someone on a ranch in exchange for room and board and a modest salary. But the way Veronica said it made it seem like I'd be running the place, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. We crested the top of one of the hills she spoke of and passed by what looked like a dilapidated old farmhouse and an old looking barn. It appeared abandoned, but I gave it the side eye as I passed.

The ranch we ended up was much neater, if a little sparse. A small house sat proudly in the middle of the land, with a tidy garden behind it. About half the crops were standing tall and probably waiting to be harvested, but two rows of them were beginning to wither. In the distance, I saw a few black and white cows meandering across the field, and I thought it odd that they weren't enclosed in any kind of fence, but rather allowed to roam freely. Another barn stood not too far to my right, and to the left was the river I was pretty sure ran through the whole town.

We approached the door of the house and Veronica raised her hand to knock, but before she could the wooden door swung open, and behind it stood a very short woman with round glasses and a small smile. Her head was covered by a large white bonnet, but strands of gray were sneaking out here and there, and she also wore a dress, green with white sleeves and a pretty white broach pinned to it in the front. I immediately felt a sense of warmth from her and could guess that I would like her very much.

"Good afternoon," the woman said happily.

"Madame Eda, I've brought the new farmer trainee with me. Her name is Candy, and she is very pleased to be here." She glanced sideways at me, and I nodded fiercely in agreement.

I was relieved that this was Eda and not someone as uptight and nerve wracking as Veronica was. Not even an hour around her and I was already stressed.

"Wonderful!" Eda clapped her hands together once, "I'm so pleased to meet you, Miss Candy. We have so much to learn!"

"Well, if you ladies will excuse me, my never ending pile of work awaits . . . Eda, I leave her in your capable hands." Veronica abruptly turned and started back the way we had come, and I couldn't say I was displeased to see her go.

I exhaled a breath I'd been holding in under she was farther away, and Eda gave me a knowing wink.

"She's a stuffy one, isn't she?" Eda mused.

I chuckled nervously. "I mean, I'm sure she's fine."

"She'll warm up once you start proving yourself around here, dear," Eda promised, "Honestly I think she's just nervous about hiring someone so young. Twenty years old! Goodness, you're practically a baby."

Normally I would take offense to a comment like that, but she said it with such affection I knew there was no ill-intent behind it.

"But that's alright," she continued, "those young bones will serve you well in this job, and perhaps you're precisely what this town needs. Besides, you remind me of one of my grandchildren. She has the prettiest blue eyes, just like you, dear."

I blushed. "Thank you, Madame Eda."

She nodded and looked around, as if just now realizing where we were. "Goodness me, here I am babbling while you're standing outside in the heat after what was probably a very long journey! Do forgive me and come in dear. My home is your home."

"Thank you so much," I said sincerely as I followed her into the modest house. She turned down a hall on the left and led me to a large bedroom.

"These things belong to you now," she said quietly, "I have no use for them now that my children and husband are gone. Everything I need is in the other bedroom and the kitchen."

Inside there was a twin size bed with a green comforter, a tall oak wood bookcase filled with books, three different wooden chests of various sizes and a small wooden table with two chairs. I drug my suitcase to the foot of the bed and sat down, grateful to be off my feet.

"I think I'll be very happy here," I said sleepily, "I'm tired now, but normally I'm much more enthusiastic, I swear."

Eda laughed, another strand of hair escaping her bonnet as she did so. "I'm sure you are honey. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable – these next few weeks are probably going to seem very hard at first, but I'm sure you'll do very well."

I quirked an eyebrow in puzzlement. "A few weeks? Won't I be staying indefinitely?"

Eda blinked at me, her confusion mirroring my own. "Of course not, dear," she said finally, "I'm only here to instruct you on the proper ways of farming. You shall have your very own land to work with and mold. Haven't you discussed it with Veronica?"

"Well I . . . I mean" – I cut myself off. In my exhaustion, my brain was failing to provide me with the proper words. I took a deep breath and tried again. "I think I must have misunderstood. I believed I would be working for someone on a farm, not running it myself," I said finally. No way to sugar coat it, I supposed.

"Not that the idea of having my own doesn't please me," I continued, "it's just that I'm not sure I can . . . I mean, there's so much to learn and . . ." I trailed off, aware of how pathetic I sounded. If Veronica heard me now, she'd ship me back to the city for sure. Eda frowned, but not at me; she was staring out the window, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

Right as I was starting to wonder if she'd forgotten I was there, she said, "Well, that's quite the surprise to you then. Oh well. If anything it should make the job more exciting, don't you think? I may be a withered old woman, dear, but I've got years of experience. You won't find someone better to teach you all there is to know. And as a matter of fact, you'll be getting the farm right beside mine, so if you have questions I'm always here to help."

She smiled again, sure she had put my mind at east. I nodded and smiled back, despite my growing doubts. "Right, of course," I said, "I'm sure it'll be fine."

My words sounded false to my own ears, but if Eda heard it in my voice she chose to ignore it. She stepped closer and patted the back of my hand.

"Best not to mention this to Veronica, Miss Candy, we'll just keep it to ourselves."

"Right," I agreed, thankful that Madame Eda was such a calming, genuine soul.

"I'm sure you'll want to be getting to bed, big day of training tomorrow. Unless you'd like something to eat?"

I shook my head and suppressed a yawn. "I'm okay, thanks."

"Okay then. I'll wake you bright and early tomorrow. Goodnight, dear." Eda turned and walked away, shutting the door behind her, leaving me to my thoughts.

I kicked off my shoes and lay back on the bed, staring up the ceiling and listening to the wind in the trees outside. I had wanted desperately to escape my old life in the city, for sure, but was I biting off more than I could chew? This was an amazingly big responsibility; from what I could tell, a whole town was depending on me and the other farmers, most of whom I'd yet to meet. What if I was terrible at this? Truth be told, I had next to no experience with hard manual labor and the only animal I'd ever had was a small dog named Clyde.

If things went poorly, I'd be sent back to my old home in disgrace, and that just wasn't an option. I was determined to do well. I'd never been good at falling asleep when I had a lot on my mind, and I hadn't even changed into fresh clothes, but my tiredness overcame me and very soon, I fell asleep.