Me: Hey everyone so this is my first Harvest Moon fanfiction. I have been playing this series of games for a while now, but I really love a new beginning and I was inspired to write a story. Now all I ask is to not get mad if I don't update super often as I am busy with other things. But i will try to update as soon as I can. I am writing with the walkthrough of the game, but don't worry everything isn't going to be the same I promise. I will make some very obvious changes. Anyways please enjoy, and please review after you read the chapters because that inspires me to write more chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon: A New Beginning...or any of the other games either.

Chapter 1:

I walked up to an old road sign with an arrow pointing in the direction of Echo Village. Finally I was almost there. It may not be the best birthday gift to receive from your parents…but I wasn't going to complain. I have been wanting a new beginning for a very long time, and this farm will hopefully be everything I need. As I passed the village limits I saw another beat up sign that I could barely read. I heard a crunch of leafs and quickly turned around to see an old man collapse right in front of me.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no…Please don't be dead…please don't be dead…"

I approached the old man and slowly placed a hand on his still beating heart. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding and stood up not knowing what to do. I started to panic when I heard a voice in my head. 'Don't panic, get him some water. You can't just leave him like that.' I looked around wondering who I just heard, and shrugged figuring that it was just myself and quickly walked over to the river and filled my canteen of water before bringing it to the old man.

The man slowly opened his eyes and looked up at me and slightly smiled before standing up and grabbing my hand in a hard hand shake. He let go and I looked at him curiously before he smiled once more.

"I'm sorry, I should explain. My name is Dunhill, and I knew that you would be coming. I was a close friend of your father when he lived here, and he told me of your eventual arrival. I had the farm prepared for you."

"Oh thank you."

"Now if you will please follow me, I would like to show you my house."

I nodded and followed him out of the river area and into the village. I looked around and noticed that fewer people than I imagined lived here. I shrugged it off, knowing a little peace and quiet would be good for me. We walked up a hill and passed what looked like an empty house and into a log cabin that had to belong to Dunhill. I sat down at his table while he prepared a meal for us. He finally finished cooking and passed me a plate before sitting down and eating his own. We finished eating in silence and I sat there not knowing what to say.

"Listen, um…" he cut off not knowing what to call me and I answered his unasked question, "Rachel."

"Right, Rachel…I know this may not seem like the best place to make a living, but I promise it has potential. I have lived here my whole life, and what has been such a flourished town…disintegrated into what it is now."

"I need some peace and quiet. This seems like just the place to have it." I said quietly not looking up at him.

"Well in that case, let me show you to your new home and farm."

He stood up and grabbed the dishes and put them into the sink before walking outside with me following him. We walked all across town and ran into a group of four people, two of which seemed to be leaving. Dunhill came to a stop and asked,

"What's going on here?"

"Well I'm sorry Dunhill, but Niko and I are leaving…There aren't enough people here to run an inn. We're going to try and open one in the next town over."

"Oh, we wish you the best of luck Hossan." Said the old woman.

"Thank you Hana, hopefully the inn will be successful. It's time for us to be leaving now."

They started to walk away and we just watched for a minute before Dunhill started walking away with me following. He sighed before he began to explain.

"This isn't the first time that has happened Rachel. The town is very small, and a great place to live, but there isn't much work so many people have left to try and make a living elsewhere."

"I'm so sorry…"

"Oh don't be…having a farm here will surely help with the town's income.

We continued walking in silence, and I finally asked the question I have been dreading to ask.

"Dunhill…how many people live in this town?"

"Including you, five…but one is not in town at the moment."

I stayed silent pondering my chances of actually being successful in such a tiny town. Although I was expecting it to be small and rural, five people are just ridiculous. I sighed, knowing that I would have to give the farm a chance before just giving up.