"You look so much like your father. I'm sure he would be very proud of you taking over the farm" Takakura said to Mark as he gave him the grand tour of the old farm. It has been years since Mark had last seen it. He left the farm when he became a man. The city life was glittery but not satisfying. When he got word that his father had passed, he decided to take a go at the agricultural life again.

"Well, yeah ma always did say I took after the guy" Mark tried to grin. He wasn't too sure about this investment. He had never run a farm alone, now he has to make money. Strangely enough, when he had arrived, there were no animals already on the land. Mark would've just expected that his father kept animals. Hopefully they didn't up and die with the old man. Mark had to admit that wasn't too close to his father. Before his father even moved way out to the Valley, he had owned a small farm. Mark could remember the little ducklings that would waddle on their land and the sole cow they owned who would never give milk. It was small but it worked for some time.

Then the fighting started. Old dad wanted him to take over and Mark wanted to see the city. As he grew, his father isolated himself in the shed for hours at a time, rarely coming in before dusk. Mother soon left and Mark was convinced that it was his father's fault for neglecting her. More fighting. Mark soon felt forced to help the farm just so they wouldn't drown. The bills were coming in faster than bullets. He couldn't do anything right according to his father. He didn't give the chicken's enough feed, the cows too much. The seeds were scattered too sloppy, too lazy. He didn't know how to order, how to ship, how to do anything.

After a year of screaming into the late night and twice after throwing punches just to end up picking his ass up off the ground, Mark just walked away. He didn't turn back to see how his father was surviving on a farm with just one cow. Now, looking at the farm in forget-me-not he wondered how he was able to up and move to the valley. From what Takakura had mentioned, he and Mark's father were friends as schoolboys. Takakura dropped out to take care of the farm in the Valley and father continued for a year after that but met Mark's mother and started their farm together in their home town.

They approached the lonesome house and Mark looked it over. There was a dog already on the land and it ran up and hopped on him as soon as it saw him. "Oh look, he must know you're family" Takakura laughed. Mark smiled, he wasn't a big dog person but the little guy was cute. He patted the dog on the face until it pushed itself off him and went to his food bowl parked right outside the house.

He went to the wooden door expecting to see Takakura following him in but he remained stiff a few yards away. "It's late so why don't you sleep now. We can talk tomorrow" he said with his arms folded behind his back. With a nod as he went to push the door open. Just as Mark's hand was to press the wood he felt a void of cool air. The door drifted open with a low creak. Weird. Mark made a mental note to have the door looked at.

Inside, the home was darkened by dust and he almost choked on it upon entering. The walls and furniture were layered with particles thick as sawdust. Hasn't the man ever cleaned his home? The father only died a week ago. Mark rubbed his finger atop one of the bookshelves leaving a trail lined by crusted dust. He came to a smooth yellowish material hardened on it. Candle wax?

He glanced around the room looking for candles. None. On the table tops and desk, ends of the bed, waxy residue hardened on. Looking around the room he was regretting signing up for this. It was already late in the evening and he was tired from the trip so he thought he'd get some sleep. Not wanting to sleep in the stiff and dusty blankets of his father's bed, and also feeling uncomfortable because it was his father's bed, he decided to go to the inn for the night. He had some money on him that he was able to scrounge from work.

The town itself wasn't that big either. There weren't even paved roads until the path hits the mansion. He could see the bright white stone from where he was standing, outside the inn. Getting a room wasn't too hard and the woman behind the counter was nice. As he approached she began to smile, "I haven't seen you before", he grinned in response. It was only as he explained that he was taking over his father's farm that her smile faded.

"Oh…" She pressed a hand to her mouth "your father…?"

Confusion was waving over his head as he tilted his head. What did that mean? It was the tone of her voice that made him uncomfortable. Your father…

Before she could apologize for her rudeness, they were interrupted by a sneer. "Ah, so do you bathe in blood too?"

"Rock!" the woman blasted loud enough to burst his ear drums. It caught him off guard and he squeaked as he jumped. Mark looked back to the stairs. There was some guy, around his age except he's clearly on the short side. He was leaning over the railing his hands tucked his elbows.

"What? I bet you wanna know too, mom" Mom? He noted that although the two look nothing alike. Maybe he resembles the father….? As he thought, Rock turned to him, "Well? Do you?"

Mark was taken aback and the woman-Ruby, she later told him- scolded him. "Rock, how many times do I need to tell you to be polite? Apologize" Rock sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Whatever" he sighed again and ascended the steps.

"I am so sorry for my son's rude behavior" she bowed, "Please forgive him, he's quite the fool"

"No, yeah… it's fine" he waved. Still, he was off put by what he said. Do you like to bathe in blood? His voice was almost laughing too. He stayed the night despite the awkwardness. His mind was filled. As he walked to his room he thought he heard noises. Walking. As he was turning into his room for the night-because he wasn't going to busy himself with someone's footsteps- he caught the tail end of a girl- a redhead- entering her room.

The next morning, he trekked up to the farm to get to working. Leaving the inn wasn't a problem as he felt uncomfortable just being in the same building as that Rock character. He didn't see him on the way out but he did see the redhead. She's a lot cuter in front that from behind. When he came to the valley, he wasn't betting on finding any babes but… anyways…

Back on the farm, Takakura had already bought some seeds for him to start with, which he greatly appreciated. Without any animals, he would have to make a profit solely from crops, hopefully the seeds are high quality.

Turns out they were basic seeds. Mark wasn't too happy to see that when Takakura handed him them. The dusty soil field beside his home was sandy at best. He spent his time tilling it but the soil shifted this way or that way and was scattered by the wind. He had completely forgotten about Rock's strange comment. Just then he thought he heard a creaking. Lifting his head from the ground, he glanced around the tall grass of the feeding field and to the places surrounding it. He heard it again but this time he thought he saw something move in his peripheral vision.

The door to the coop swung open and was shaking. He dropped his hoe onto the ground and went to it. The old door was still solid in his grasp. He took a quick peep on the inside. Some part of him still felt like it was still his father's farm and that he shouldn't be so nosy. The inside was dark and bird feed was scatter on the floor outside the feeder, like someone lifted the bag and dumped it all out and just let it tumble where it may.

Anyways, he shut the door. He pushed and pulled on the handle to check it and it felt solid. Just as it he did so, he heard another rusty creaking. Mark rolled his head to see the door to his home open.

Mark pushed away from the door he was standing in front of and went to his home. The door was flimsy and when slammed shut, rebounds and wobbles. He'd have to have Takakura take a look at it. He was much closer than the carpenter the next town over. When he told Takakura about it, he fixed it quickly and Mark just went back planting.

When the sun dipped below the horizon, he went inside for the day. The refrigerator bare except for the few fish that Takakura stocked for him. The meal he made was plain but effective. When you've been working for hours at a time, taste becomes a little less important.

It felt very awkward lying in his father's bed. He had to beat out all the dust but the blankets were still dusty and cold. He kicked his legs and twisted, trying to get comfy to no avail. The worn mattress had a permeant dent in it that it felt like the inside had been hollowed out. Mark rested in it. He could only imagine that his father left the dent. He never knew just how big his father was.

Despite the bed being cramped and uncomfortable, he managed to drift away. The blanket soon warmed and surrounded him like the walls of a cave. As he slept a breeze cooled his cheeks and nose. He shifted and his eyes cracked open in small slits.

A window. Curtains ebbed and flowed in the breeze. Not wanting to move but knowing he's going to have to, he got up and shuffled slowly to it. It was the second window closeted to the door. The window wasn't that big and Mark reached up and pulled the pane down. He was kind of dizzy as he drifted back to bed.

It was two a.m. when he awoke again. The room was shadowy and bathed in a phantom blue from the windows. As he was going back to sleep he saw some movement that wasn't right. The curtains. All of them still except one. In the pale moonlight, a set of curtains was raising and falling, waving to him in the nightlight. He sat up, ripping the thick blanket from himself. A deep howl came in through the window.

The same window was now open again. He poked his head out of it. The leaves of the trees and bushes looked dark blue. He moved back inwards and shut the window again, this time making sure to slam it.

When morning came, Mark rose with the sun. He nibbled on what was left of the fish in the kitchen. It was stuffy inside so he propped open the kitchen window. He would have to devote some time to cleaning this place up. Cleaning has never been his forte so he figured he should get a wife soon. Maybe that redhead.

As he was leaving he felt a tinge of confusion. Right as he was about to step out the door, he noticed the second window was open.