1. Introduction
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon
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All Theodore ever wanted was to be a beloved mayor. Dreams of what could be for Flowerbud Village were always dancing through his head. There was never a festival that had to be canceled from a lack of goods, and all of them were the most joyous occasions. Everyone was always thrilled to live there.
Oh but things weren't quite as Theodore had created them to be in his head. To him the town was always falling short of its potential. The handful of villagers that had established themselves had their fair share of prosperity, but it was never quite enough to really put the town on the map. Theodore knew that there was so much that his village was capable of, especially since there was such a surplus of space.
What was there to do though? Theodore had been brainstorming for weeks, months on what he could do to expand his town. Goddess, he knew he would have a stroke of genius eventually, yet eventually was taking so much time. A successful idea wouldn't happen overnight, obviously. There was nothing. Theodore couldn't really place one fantastic, refreshing idea.
"If Maria were here she could help me," Theodore sighed. Even his own daughter had to leave town. Sure she left in order to expand her own horizons, promising she'd be back after she was done with schooling. Still, he was so alone without her.
It was challenging not having Maria around. It was hard to not be able to have the town he envisioned on his daily walks. Theodore knew he wanted a lot. He couldn't help it. Flowerbud Village was such a great place to be, to live.
During his walk through town that evening, Theodore looked around and imagined how all the plots of land could be filled. He wanted Maria to have whatever she wanted near one of the smaller beachfronts. He was pretty sure she would want to open up a library, which might not be best across from the ocean, but at least she would also be close to the square in town.
There were some plots that would be so good for something like an orchard. Others were close enough to the hustle and bustle of town to be shops or other businesses. It would be amazing to think about how there could be people walking through this part of town all the time. To have people resting from shopping in the town square.
Finally, there was a lot of land Theodore thought would be great for farms. The farms and ranches in the village were all doing really well. Theodore was certain that more farms would be best for his town. If only he could get outsiders to see that. If only there was a way to invite people to become farmers in town. The extra animal products and produce would provide even more opportunities for the town.
"Maybe I can invite people to farm here," Theodore said. He was looking at a piece of land by the river. There was some work that needed to be done. Trees cleared, rocks moved, weeds to pick. Still this could be a great place for growing crops, maybe raising chickens.
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"Now what should I call it?" Theodore pondered aloud.
It had taken all night of wonder to really start get the words for the invitation. The next morning, Theodore had actually gotten the words down on paper. An enticing name was all the work left for this project. It needed to be a good one.
Theodore was feeling so much as he was making this happen. This action filled him to the brim with so many conflicting emotions. Excitement. Anxiety. Happiness. Fear of failure. Longing. Peace. This project was everything. He was finally doing something.
Exciting Ranch Plan was what Theodore ended up scrawling on the top of the form. So the name wasn't the best, but he wasn't Maria. Still, he was sure she would be proud.
The time had come to get the form to the closest city.
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Almost a whole season had passed since Theodore had left the Exciting Ranch Plan flyer at the train station in the city. In fact, Theodore had almost completely forgotten about it. The plan had been pretty farfetched anyways. At least he had tried.
Spring was nearing and Flowerbud looked beautiful in the morning. The snow was almost all melted and flowers were starting to poke up around town, weeds too. Still, Theodore thought even the weeds looked beautiful with the sun hitting whatever water was adorning the plant.
"Good morning, Flowerbud," Theodore mumbled.
It was time to check the mail. The day and work had begun. There were things to be done as soon as possible. Hank had requested Theodore's presence.
As Theodore looked through his mail, he knew that Hank would have to wait. Amongst some tedious mail and different correspondence with villagers was not one but two responses to the Exciting Ranch Plan. One letter was from someone named Jack, a good farming name. The other was from a woman named Tina. This was it. There was more about to happen in Flowerbud Village.
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