An alluring, dark voice comes from the tall stranger before me.
"Where are you going?" he asks with interest, curious eyes seeking mine. Taking a step back, I hesitate before replying steadily, "Is that any of your business?"
He chuckles, the low sound winding through her head as he takes a step closer and looks down into my face. One hand already reaching for my hair, he whispers sinisterly, "But it is my business, Love. You'd do well to remember that."
~~~~Claire~~~~
My eyes flash open in an instant, and I can feel my heart beating a mile a minute. As I sit up in bed and let my hair fall across my shoulders, I shiver and wrap my arms around myself.
What was with that dream?
Wanting to shake the feeling off of my skin, I quickly climb out of bed and go to the bathroom, brushing my teeth vigorously as if that will take away the memory of the nightmare. Of course, it doesn't do anything but make my gums sore, and I make a wry face in the mirror before spitting into the sink and heading to my kitchen to make some coffee.
I knew eating half a carton of ice cream before going to bed last night was a bad idea.
As I turn on my TV and put the volume on low, I grab the nearby newspaper before the image of my dream comes back and I shudder violently. It's times like this when I wish I didn't live alone; I'd have someone to talk to and maybe I wouldn't feel so bored all the time. Sure, I've got a few people I know from work, but even though I've lived in this place for two years now I just haven't been able to connect with anyone. That, and most of my time has been spent working as well.
Sometimes, I feel like it's such a boring and monotonous life, and while the thought dogs me I feel like I can't do anything about it. The more I think about it, the more it irritates me, and finally I explode. "Isn't there anything exciting in this world?" I complain, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration.
The newspaper goes flying around the room, and I grumble as I realize I'll have to pick it up when something catches my eye. I clamber over my table and snatch the paper, clutching it closer as I read the words, 'Refreshing farm life'.
The rest of the ad goes on and on about other things, like how boring life is and how a farm life could change all that, but I'm not longer paying much attention to the words on the page.
Is this it? Is this the change that I'm looking for?
For a second, the thought of leaving all I know behind daunts me a bit. Sure, city living can be boring, but it's comfortable and secure. Can I really leave all of this behind to go live on a farm? Sure, the ad says that it's in good condition, but even so I know nothing of farming. The more I question it, the more I begin to doubt it until my eyes rest on the words, "Tired of the same pattern of days?"
Those seven words click in my mind and I begin to tremble with excitement. I've been tired of this life for so long-how could change possibly be bad for me? Having made my decision, I rush to the phone and eagerly pick it up, dialing the number on the page.
It's high time that I started to really live, and I'm not going to let this opportunity get away from me.
The sight that greets my eyes has me frozen in shock. As I gaze across the desolate, weed-ridden field I feel my anger rising, and it finally bursts out as I scream as loud as I can in frustration, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"
After that, my screaming becomes incomprehensible sounds of rage, and I'm so busy making noise that I don't realize that someone else is on the farm until I hear the clearing of a throat. I quiet down and look quickly to my right, suddenly noticing the presence of someone else on my new farm. It's a short, pompous looking man decked out in all red. He's got something of a mustache and some glasses, and he puffs himself up importantly before asking, "Hello there! I am Thomas, the mayor Mineral Town. Are you a tourist?"
"Whaa…?" Due to my screaming and my shock, I've lost the ability to communicate efficiently like a normal human being, so the sound that comes out of my mouth doesn't even make it into a full word. For a second the man looks at me before asking again, "You're not a tourist?"
I shake my head and try to pull my head together. Whoever he is, he must clearly be important if he's here talking to me with such authority in his voice. Slowly, I say, "I'm not a tourist, no. I'm Claire Robbins…and I bought this farm from an ad but…"
He looks astonished for a second before he bursts into loud laughter, taking me by surprise. As he laughs raucously, I watch him clutching his stomach before he howls, "You're the new farmer, eh? You've been tricked!" As I stare on in shock, he calms down a bit and says, "This used to be a beautiful farm, but ever since the owner left four years ago it's gone to shambles. The ad was a lie, and you believed it! You're so gullible-!"
I've had about all I can take at this point, and he chokes on his words as I smile sweetly, my hammer pounding his foot to the ground roughly. As I swing my hammer back up onto my shoulder, I put a hand on my hip and say in a dangerous voice, "You wouldn't have had anything to do with such a slanderous ad, now would you Mayor Thomas?" He begins to shake his head and hop backwards, frantically waving his hands in surrender as I stalk after him menacingly, swinging my hammer nonchalantly in one hand as I glare at him.
He doesn't say anything else as I stop and turn my back to him, looking out at my new farm. In a cold voice, I say, "Get off my land, Mayor, or I might just do something I'll regret later."
With a squeak of panic, he hobbles off as fast as he can, leaving me to survey the terrible fate that I seem to have been burdened with. The idea of living on this farm is daunting, especially considering that the house isn't a house at all but is really more of a shack instead. I crouch down and sigh, my head in my hands as the dog I bought romps up to me and licks my elbow encouragingly.
I smile at it before picking it up and saying, "Well, there's no looking back now." As I carry the small creature with me over to the little hut that I now have to call home, I want to lament the fact that I've basically been subjected to living on a rundown farm where I'll have to struggle to survive. My only hope now is that I can make some friends in this town, although if the mayor goes around talking about my temper I probably won't make very many friends.
Somehow, I get the feeling that hitting him with that hammer wasn't in my best interests.
The puppy wriggles in my arms, as if it's dying to be set down on the ground again so it can run off, but I won't let it. This is my family now, and I don't plan on losing it.
I was lonely once-and I don't want to be lonely again.