He had seen her before, of that he was sure.

He couldn't quite place her. He knew he had seen her around the village- just a few days ago she had been buying seeds from Vesta. Yet something in her face reminded him of someone.

She had stumbled into the house in the late afternoon, her blonde hair whirring around her from the wind outside. She hadn't noticed him until she had taken a few tentative steps into the living room. "Oh." Her eyes widened at him, giving him no choice but to notice how deeply blue they were; the kind of blue that made him feel as if he was drowning in Goddess Pond, a blue so deep he could practically feel his lungs straining against his chest in the way they hadn't done since last rainfall. She stood before him, silence stretching before them like a horizon.

"...Hey." He finally choked out, air filling his lungs so suddenly despite him not being aware he was holding his breath. She nodded at him, her captivating eyes narrowing as she looked at him.

He had never been looked at this way by a woman; never before had he felt his person being analyzed down to the smallest detail. He became very aware of the fact that he had not bothered to comb his hair that morning, awkwardly cleared his throat, and moved to block her passage to the stairs. "Celia is upstairs sleeping." She raised her eyebrows at him, her lower lip jutting out slightly. "Vesta's looking after her right now. If you want to meet with either of them it's probably best to come another time..."

She frowned. "Oh... Sorry. I just wanted to ask Vesta a question about the turnip seeds she sold me."

He squinted down at her. That's how he recognized her- she looked rather like the old farmer who died a few seasons ago on that run-down ranch. Vaguely, he could see the resemblance in her chin. "Well, I know a few things about seeds. Maybe I could help?"

She looked almost hesitant to ask him, her cheeks going red. "I um, just wanted to know if they were perennials. Or whatever the term is. Do they grow back?"

Her cheeks were blushing a ridiculous red, and it occurred to him that she didn't have slightest idea what she was doing when it came to farming. He couldn't stop himself from chuckling smugly. "Nope. Cucumbers and strawberries do though."

"Oh. So I guess it's kind of a waste of time buying turnips, then?"

He shrugged. "Not necessarily. You have to buy a lot of them to really turn a good profit though."

She smiled at him, a crooked smile that could have been taken directly off the face of her father. "Ah, yeah I guess that's true. Sorry for all the questions, um-?"

"Marlin."

"Claire." She sent him another crooked smile, crossing her arms as she did it. "I'm kinda new to all this farm stuff. My mom and dad split so I wasn't really raised here."He didn't have anything to say to her, and settled to watch her instead. Vaguely, he could see remnants of the face he had seen in old news paper photographs, something about her cheek bones reminding him of an older woman in the city. She was staring at the wall opposite him, her long hair hanging like a curtain between them. "Mom used to say all there was to do in Forget-Me-Not Valley was milk cows, go swimming, and eat."

He caught himself chuckling. "To be fair we do eat a lot here."

She laughed, a loud tinkling laugh that send a strange shiver down his spine. "Oh yeah? Well if you're such an expert, what's your favourite food?"

It was a question he got asked a lot, yet the answer was not readily available to his lips. He was saved by Vesta bounding down the stairs.

"Oh, Claire! You're here." Vesta beamed, gently shoving him out of the way. Sending a smirk towards him, she let out a booming chuckle. "You and Marlin together? That's unexpected. What were you two talking about?"

He couldn't fail to miss the crimson rushing to Claire's cheeks, nor could he stop it from his own. "It's nothing Vesta... Not a big deal. How is Celia feeling?"

"It's nothing really." She boomed, beginning her trek to the kitchen. "She's just worn out. She'll probably wake up soon."

"Speaking of worn out, I'd better get going." Claire had moved towards the door, the crimson hardly faded from her cheeks. She hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Thanks for all the help, Marlin."

He watched her out the door, his mind already far away from their encounter.

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