Chapter 1: The Journey to Mineral Village


I was sitting in my apartment in the city when I had a call from my girlfriend named Joanna.
"Hello?" I answered the phone.
"Hi Jack, we need to talk." she said.
"Hey Joanna, what about?" I asked.
"Well, I don't think it's working out between us." she stated.
I was in shock.
"What? Why, we're perfect!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, we're too perfect. There's nothing new in our relationship, I'm sorry Jack." said Joanna, and with that, she hung up.

I sat there dumfounded for 10 minutes. I really liked Joanna. I was distraught and didn't know what to do. I had moved away from my parents to be with Joanna when she visited my old hometown, now she had left me and I didn't have a purpose to live in Green City anymore. I had made my decision, so I packed all my belongings into a single suitcase, turned in my apartment key, and set out to the docks.

When I got to the docks, I saw that the ferry was just leaving. "Great," I thought to myself. I bought a one way ticket to a small farming village across the bay. I had heard it was a very calming place to live, full of nice people. I went into the pub and got a drink while I waited for the ferry to come. A half an hour later, the ferry arrived. I picked up my suitcase and walked on board.

On the ferry, I was only one of two people going to Mineral Village. The other was a young man with red hair. I walked over to him and tried to make small talk.
"Hello there, my name is Jack, what's yours?" I asked.
"Oh hi, I'm Rick." he responded, then turned his back to me.
"So, you visiting Mineral Village?" I asked.
"No, actually I live there," he responded, turning around to face me.
"Oh you do, do you own a farm?" I asked curiously.
"No, I own a poultry farm with my mom and sister Popuri." he explained.
"Oh, that sounds interesting. Do you make meat or something?" I questioned.
"Oh no, nothing like that," Rick replied laughing, "We sell chickens to the local farmers."
"That sounds profitable." I said.
"Not really, once someone buys a chicken they usually hatch their own. Our profit comes mainly from selling chicken feed." he shrugged.
"Ok, I think I get it. So, are there any job openings at Mineral Village?" I asked.
"Um..I'm not sure, I think the Inn is hiring, maybe the vineyard. There is an old farm that an old man used to live on, he recently passed away. They are planning on tearing it down." he said.
"Really? A farm? Is it in good condition? Has anyone claimed it?" I asked, I had an idea.
"Well, no one has claimed it. No one has wanted to claim it though. It's in terrible condition. The field is covered in weeds." he replied.
"Well, I'll talk to the Mayor." I said.

After my little discussion with Rick, I walked over to a bench on the ferry and sat down. I was tired, but excited. I hoped that no one had claimed the farm, and that they would allow me to run it.

The ferry arrived at the village an hour later. I walked off the ferry and onto the beach. I saw a young girl with pink hair. I was curious about her hair, but thought it would be rude to say anything about it.
"Hello!" said the girl.
"Hi..." I replied.
"Oh pardon me! I'm so rude! My name is Popuri, what's yours?" she said quickly.
"I'm Jack. Nice to meet you. I think I met your brother, Rick?" I said.
"Yeah, that's my brother. He's a little over protective if you ask me, but I love him all the same."
"That's good. So, where's the mayor?" I asked.
"He's right over there," said Popuri, pointing to a short man with odd hair.
"Thanks," I replied, walking towards the man.
"Hi there, are you the Mayor?" I asked.
"Yes, I suppose that would be me." he replied.
"Ok, I have a question. I was wondering...is anyone taking over the farm I have heard about? If not, could I take over?" I said, getting straight to the point.
"Well, we were planning on selling it to make an amusement park, but...since this is a farming village, and someone finally wants to take it over, sure you can!" he said.
"Great! Can you show me where it is?" I asked.
"Surely." replied the Mayor.

The Mayor led me through the Town Square, down a road and into the farm. It was very large, and also in terrible condition. Rick was right, weeds were covering the ground. Other than the weeds, the farm wasn't in too bad a shape. He showed me the various buildings, then left me. I decided to go meet some people.

I walked through the village and random villagers walked up and introduced themselves. I had met 2 girls already, Mary and Popuri. Neither were to my liking, but I figured there had to be one girl I would like. As I walked towards the supermarket, I saw a girl my age run from the Inn and behind the supermarket. I followed her.

I followed her through a clearing then into the woods, she was running. I ran after her and she suddenly tripped and landed, sprawled on the ground. I ran to her side.
"Oh my gosh are you ok?" I asked out of breath.
"Who are you?" she asked coldly.
"I'm Jack, I'm new here." I responded.
"Oh well Jack. Get out of here." she said, standing up and running away.

She didn't seem very friendly, so I didn't want to bother with her anymore. I walked away and I heard a sigh. I turned around.
"I'm...sorry." said the girl.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I understand it's a bad time." I replied casually.
"No...no really. I had no reason to act like that to you." she insisted.
"Ok...I accept your apology." I replied.
"Good. My name is Karen, what's yours?" she asked.
"I'm Jack...I'm taking over the farm." I said.
"Ok Jack. Well, I guess I'll see you around!" she said, skipping off towards her house.

I walked back to my farm feeling happy. Karen seemed nice after all. I decided that I'd probably better go to bed, since I was to wake up at 6 in the morning. I fell asleep and dreamt of Karen.

The next morning I woke up to a start with a light sweat on my forehead.. I had a very awkward, yet scary dream. I dreamt that Karen and I had been engaged, and there was a dark cloud around her. The dark cloud was black as night, and she had a mournful expression on her face. Her eyes real depth-less and she was like a wandering soul. I tried to get through to her, yet she did not answer.

I tried to forget the dream as I did my chores. Since I only had two crops planted, I only had to water them. I fed my dog and talked to the young pony that Barley, who lived on the Yodel Ranch, had given me. I had named the pony Apola, and my dog Otis.

I was just about to walk to the mountain to forage for herbs or something when I heard a soft crunching in the grass. I turned around to see Karen walking up. A sudden feeling from my dream came, but I urged it away and put on a smile. I approached her and waved.
"Hey there Karen." I said.
"Hiya Jack. How are you doing this beautiful morning?" she asked politely. She was trying to make up for being so curt to me the other day.
"I'm doing wonderfully, you?" I asked, trying to get on the same level she was on.
"I'm great. So, have you finished your chores?" she asked, bowing her head and looking down at her feet.
"Yeah, I was just going to walk in the mountain. Would you like to come?" I said, holding out my arm.
"Ok!" she said, taking my arm.

We walked towards the mountain arm in arm. We could smell the dew on the fresh grass, it hadn't yet been stepped on. We talked about things like her parent's store and my hopes for the farm. She seemed very interested in everything I said, and looked me in the eyes the whole time. I felt awkward, and in a way naked, like she could just know what I was thinking, but I tried not to let it bother me.

Pretty soon we had walked up to the lake. Karen urged me to sit down with her, so I did. We watched the lake ripple in the light breeze, and attempted to skip rocks, although it didn't exactly work. We were having a great time, until a man walked up.
"KAREN. Where have you been?" he screamed.
"Jeff..please!" she whined.
"Don't call me Jeff, I'm your father!" he roared.
"Dad..." she said in an urging voice, nodding her head towards me.
"I don't care if you are on a date or not! You are coming home and helping unpack our shipment!" he screamed.
Karen turned a bright red, then moaned and stood up. "Gosh Dad, you are such a party pooper!"

Karen and her father stormed off, so I was left sitting down. I decided I'd gather things so I did and made a few bucks. I was rather poor, but I knew once my first harvest came in, I'd be making more money.