The day I had written that letter to an old family friend I had no idea what I was thinking. Maybe I was expecting some closure…Ever since my dad died I've been looking for some way to honor his death. Then it hit me…why not write his old friend Takura and see how my dad's first love…his ranch was.
You see my dad had loved working on the farm and ever since I was a little girl and could understood what he was saying…my dad would drab on about the ins and outs of farming. Of course I would listen patiently and feign interest in my dad's repeated and long drawn-out stories of his farm life. I was a horrible pretender.
"You are too much like your mother." My father would say lovingly. "You've got that city-girl blood in you. You'll never know what true hard work is until you work on a farm." He would tell me. I would sigh and agree politely with my father until he decided to free me from his conversations.
It wasn't until this year that I wished I would've paid more attentions to his farm stories. When I did listen I always enjoyed them, they just took so long. My dad was correct; I was a city-girl. I had the attention span of a goldfish and grew impatient quickly. I would've been a poor excuse for a farm girl.
But my favorite story of all was how my father met my mother. He was working down at some place called Forget-Me-Not Valley. My mother was traveling from here and there looking for a nice place to settle. That's where she met my dad and his lifelong best friend Takura. They feel in love instantly and got married within a few weeks. When she found out she was pregnant, she told my dad, "It's me and the baby or the ranch." Of course my dad chose the ranch, it was his ultimate sacrifice. He and my mother moved into a large city and that's where I've been born and raised ever since.
It wasn't until recently that my mother passed away from cancer. This pained me and my father greatly and then not even a month later my father passed away. It was expected, my parents were so in love that it would've been even sadder to see my dad walk this world alone without his perpetual soul-mate. They left me alone, with no younger brothers and sisters. This is where my story begins.
I sent a letter to Takura like I stated earlier in a large red envelope making certain to make the envelope as bright as possible. I wanted him to read it as soon as possible. I wrote of my curiosity about the farm and also wrote about my present life in the city. Then on the last line I put…"I want to try working on the farm." Enclosed with my deepest gratitude and my condolences. A week later a received a reply. Takura said he'd be more than happy to have me.
Then before I knew it, I was on a boat. Riding out to sea to my new home. I brought little, a few clothes, some food and the money I had received from selling my old house. I was more than nervous. Then after an hour of riding we were there…in Forget-Me-Not Valley. It was a small town I recognized this straightaway.
There was a man standing next to the ocean, letting his feet get washed up in the ever prevalent waves. He stood motionless and stared at the boat waiting for me to get out. I looked and him quizzically and found myself becoming a little bit frightened.
He was old like my father had been and he had dark black hair with a few streaks of grey lining the edges. His eyes were sunken and were becoming overshadowed by his thick black eyebrows that reminded me of little caterpillars on his head. He squinted at me as I approached, and as soon as I neared he grunted. Then he said, "You're your father's daughter all right." I've been told this many times. It was true, I may have my mother's antics but I had my father's looks. The brown hair and hazel eyes with my small noise and full lips. Then he continued. "It's a shame about your father. Fate works in strange ways." I nodded solemly when he spoke this and continued to wait. There was an awkward pause for a while. Neither of us knew what to say.
Takura cleared his throat and fumbled with his chapped hands for a while before he spoke again. "Anyway I'm sure he's in a better place. Come on the farm's this way." Takura ended is conversation and lead me up the hill to his and my father's old farm.
While Takura showed me around the farm and explained a few things I surveyed my surroundings. The whole village was small, there couldn't have been more than twenty people here max and it was strangely quiet. I noticed the wind blowing through the trees, the cats meowing, the birds chirping, the sounds of villagers feet hitting the ground as they walked. It was weird, in the city all I had heard were loud bustling vehicles and shouts of angry citizens trying to get to work on time.
While Takura was showing me the chicken coop two stray dogs ran up to us. I was a little freigtened at first. In the city when stray dogs had run up to you, it was to attack you for food. But my fears soon ended when the pointy eared dog came and licked my hand. I laughed for the small dog tongue had tickled.
I noticed Takura tsking slightly and I wondered why. "They seem to like you." He pronounced. A sudden idea sparked in my head.
"Can I keep one?" I asked excitedly. I had always wanted a dog, but our house didn't contain a backyard.
Takura sighed again. "All right. But I'm not to fond of dogs so just one. Okay?"
Of course I picked the pointy eared one. I had grown attached to him instantly. Takura let me name him and I named him Charley after my dad. I thought it would suit the dog since it looked like a nice rancher.
Takura raised my eyebrows at the name I picked and then paused before speaking once again. "All right." He spoke. "I'll find a home for the other one in the city. I'll make a dog house for him too." I felt a tinge of guilt and then got over it quickly. I couldn't have handled two dogs anyway.
After the dog picking Takura finally showed me my house. It was small but that was okay for I was only one person and didn't need a lot of space. Plus it was free and it was very kind of Takura to let me stay for the matter. "I fixed it up a bit so you could move in right away."
"Where's your house?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Oh…my house. My house is the building across the food storage." He turned around and showed me his house. It was relatively the same size and shape as mine. I thought he was about to end the tour but then he stopped.
"Oh come here for one second. I've got a surprise for you." He led to me the barn and inside of the barn there was a single brown and white normal cow. I grimaced. It smelled just like I had imagined. Then when I walked in it moo'd and I jumped about a foot.
"I bought you one female cow. She just gave birth a few days ago so she should be all ready for you to milk her. I've been calling her Betsy but you can name her whatever you want." Takura spoke again as he fiddled his thumbs. I felt touched by his act of kindness.
"Betsy's fine." I said politely. The realization of owning a farm had suddenly hit me in a wave. I was scared but at the same time excited for my new life to begin. Takura and I spoke for a while longer about my new life before he led me back to the new house.
"I'll let you get settled and then I'll come back later. I'll introduce you to the villagers when you're rested." That's when he closed the door and left me alone to my thoughts.