Chapter 1: Arrival

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When you think about it, time is a funny thing. For one, it is among the few matters that the human mind, at its highest and most brilliant peak, cannot conquer. It can bring all sorts of things: improvements, failures, experience— or it can bring hardly any change at all. Sometimes it seems to drag on and on, yet other times it seems to whiz by, leaving you with a look of surprise as you glance at your watch. But the funny thing is, no matter how fast or slow it seems to go, no matter how many things change or stay the same, you're still in the same place as you are now, constantly dwelling in the present. Confusing, huh?

In Flower Bud Village, time dragged. Monotony was dominating. Yet seventeen years had still brought me to that particular moment, and it was one I didn't yet know would cause the previous years of my life to seem miniscule and wasted. It would make it appear as if I had absolutely no highs and lows in my life before it. And yet, I couldn't define it as a "high" or a "low". I wasn't sure yet. All I could define it as was a little change in my daily routine.

You see, my whole life, I grew up with the same people. The mailman, the potion shop dealer, the pastor, the ranchers, the old farmer, the bakers, the artisan, the mayor and his wife— you get the picture. Only when Kai showed up on our ranch had I met anyone new for the first time in my life. There were four other girls around my age, of course, but I had never been especially close with any of them. I went by the same schedule, the same routine every day. For thirty days it seemed I did the exact same thing, and only when I was on the edge of total breakdown did a new season begin, and for a couple of days I would adjust to the new schedule until that soon worked into tedious routine again too.

So you can picture the rush of excitement I felt at first that day. I had been standing on the pier, watching the waves ebb and flow and longing for a city life, when I saw it— a small ferry headed toward the island. It was the very beginning of a new year, and I was still a bit hungover from the festival the day before, so at first I thought I was imagining it. But as the ferry approached and the waves began breaking faster, I realized I wasn't hallucinating. Should I get the mayor? was my first thought. But I thought better of it. The idea of a new situation in my rather bland life captivated me. And so, when the small boat finally landed, I was the first to catch a glimpse of change in the form of a six-foot-tall, gangly-looking boy who looked to be no older than myself.

The problem was, first impressions weren't really my thing. Considering I had only made about a total of one in my entire life, I couldn't really say that I was too experienced with them. But based off of that "one time", I wasn't the typical welcoming type. I could feel one thing and say another without knowing why it came out so maliciously cruel. So you can probably imagine what happened next.

"Well, well," I had said as the newcomer first stepped off of the ferry. "Look at what we've got here. A tourist in Flower Bud? Are you lost, little boy?"

As I said, I was not that great at greetings.

Nevertheless, he threw me a smile, and simply shook his head. "No, actually. I've um, come to take over my grandpa's place." He grabbed the last of his bags from the boat and dropped them onto the pier. So this was the grandson of the old geezer who had passed away. Figures— he wore the same blue and orange cap the old man always had on. "Could you show me to it, perhaps?" he asked politely, his eyes bright with excitement.

I nearly laughed in his face. "Hah, you mean the deserted old dump? You're taking over that?"

He put on a worried expression. I could tell he was serious about this. "Okay... well, c'mon then. I'll show you where it is. Or what's left of it, anyway." He threw the sailor a tip, heaved his bags up onto his shoulders, and followed me without complaint as I trudged through the sand and off the beach.

"Wow, who lives there?" he asked as soon as he saw the ranch that bordered the beach. What was I now, his tour guide? Still, I answered him, albeit bluntly.

"Doug Green and his two children, Ann and Gray. They raise and sell animals."

He looked impressed. "I hope I can raise some of my own soon enough," he told me. I stopped and turned to face him, and he followed suit, taken slightly aback.

"You think that it's that simple? Hah!" I retorted. It was obvious he had come from the city, even though truthfully I was slightly envious of that. "Well, this isn't Kansas anymore, cityboy. As you might have noticed, there aren't many machines around here. No roads, no sidewalks, only dirt. You know, dirt? It actually occupied the ground before concrete." I began walking toward the farm again.

"I know," he said, slightly downcast. "I've never liked the city, really."

I snorted sarcastically in response. You have no idea what you've got yourself into, I thought.

Finally we reached the farm. "Well, here we are. Welcome to Camelot— there's your castle," I pointed to the shabby barn, "and there is your noble party," I told him as a small brown dog ran happily up to him.

"Wow, I didn't know grandpa had a dog! Does it have a name?" he asked, bending down to scratch the mutt behind the ears.

I shrugged.

"Yeah, well it was one of his few possessions. Now, you have fun here with Sir Arthur. Bye," I said coldly as I turned to leave.

"Wait!" he called, standing back up to face me. I turned back around, annoyed. I raised my eyebrows at him, letting him know my impatience. What more could this guy want? A welcoming party?

"I'm Jack." He stuck out his hand. I made no attempt to shake it, but instead looked at it in disdain.

"Karen." I replied simply, and turned around to leave once more.

"Nice to meet you, Karen!" I heard him call. "Thanks!"

What was with this guy? Was he really that thick? Couldn't he see that I didn't want to talk to him?

Though secretly, I did. I just didn't realize it until after I had made it back to the vineyard. My father started scolding me upon my arrival, for I had managed to let him down yet again. Surprise, surprise. Eventually, when he stopped muttering and turned to sit on a nearby barrel, I headed to the cellar, figuring I better do a little work in order to keep it from stacking up too high. As I opened the door, about to head down the stairs, I took a look at my father, who was drinking from a freshly opened bottle of wine.

"Oh, there's a new guy at the old man's farm. Name's Jacob or something." I slammed the door shut before he had chance to reply.

The truth was, I remembered his name. He wasn't all that annoying. He was kind of good-looking even. But my bitter attitude told me otherwise, and I tended to follow my fake front rather than the reality of things. Why? I didn't know. I guess I was mad. Mad because my life was dull and that it never changed. My dad drank and cursed constantly, my mother cried twenty-four seven. I did the majority of the work in the vineyard, other than Kai, our hired hand, of course, and yet we were still practically broke. I'll admit that I was slightly interested in Kai— but that wouldn't ever amount to anything. He worked for my parents, and was, well, nice. Not like me. Not like me at all.

I absent-mindedly began turning over the wine bottles in the shelves. I could have been nice for once, I thought. But I had already ruined that. Soon he would blend in to the other villagers, just another figure falling into the daily routine of Flower Bud Village. As for me, I'd probably keep on going with the same system for the rest of my life. I'd live and die as if I had repeated the same day over and over thousands of times.

But I was wrong. Soon, things would change for me, and I wouldn't know how to deal with it. But I would find out... eventually. It just took a little work. Okay, it took a lot of work.

And so here the story begins.