Update (3/27/13): I will be rewriting much of what I have now, but it will still follow the same storyline. I'll try to not change much, but I am wanting to change the tense to past (yet again..). Also I'll be doing some general rewording of things because I feel my writing has improved since this was originally written.
My story is set in Forget-Me-Not Valley. I have actually never played Harvest Moon DS Cute, but from what I read about Skye, I instantly fell in love with him... so... decided to write a story about him and Jill. My first game in the Valley was HM:AnWL so I will be picturing that one in my head instead of the HMDS version. I do have the non-cute version and just like the graphics for the GC better than the DS. So my story will be a cross between the games. Like, I call on the phone to Mineral Town to order stuff, but I still have the shipping house thing on the GC version and Takakura takes the shipped stuff to town. And I'm also imagining both the cave and the dig site at Carter and Flora's place.

Chapter One: Moving In

It really was beautiful in Mineral Town, and I was disappointed that I couldn't stay in the quaint town any longer than I was able to; I came from a city fairly far away. I had bought a home in Forget-Me-Not Valley a couple weeks beforehand, and was still on my way to get there. My best friend Claire lived in Mineral Town, so I figured I might as well stop by and see her on my way. But a "stop by" turned into a week. I guess she had actually helped me get me ready for farm life by giving me experience with animals and crops and such. I'd always been a hard worker and an active person, but I hated to say that I'd never actually worked on a farm until that week. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to become a full time farmer... but it was about too late to turn back. The property I had bought had apparently been abandoned for quite some time. The whole Valley knew that I was on my way, and they were all excited to have a new person to come and live with them.

Even though I'd never been a farmer or rancher before, I'd always wanted to try it.. so this was my chance!

I sat on Claire's extra bed – my bed for the past week – and stared at the floor, waiting on Claire to finish her chore, whatever that was (I wasn't even listening when she told me). My mind had been elsewhere for the past couple of days, thinking about the Valley and wondering if it was as nice as Mineral Town. Well, today was the day that I'd be embarking on the last leg of my trip, so I had better go ahead and pack my bags.

It took me only about ten minutes to get everything crammed into my two suitcases. I had nothing left to do before I had to leave, so I began to play with Claire's dog, Sparky, until she got back. Soon enough, she burst through the door with two large grocery bags in her arms. I quickly ran over to her and took one of them off her hands.

Claire gave a huge sigh of relief, "Thank you, Jill. I would have been back sooner, but it took me so long to carry these things."

"So... what is all that?" I asked.

"Well... some groceries for me, and I got some things to start you off as well." She started going through the bags and pulled out several seeds. "I got you some turnip seeds to start out with. And you can't go without having any tools, so I got you some."

"Claire... you didn't have to do that. I can get some on my own."

"I know that; I didn't get you many, just the ones you'd need to get started." She pulled out a hammer, hoe, watering can, and an axe and handed them all to me. "There you go. Are you ready to head on out, Jill?"

I sighed and looked at my bags on the floor. "Yep. I guess so." I didn't want to leave Claire, but I was getting kind of anxious to start my new life in a new place.

"Here's a rucksack to carry your tools and seeds in. It's an old one that I don't need anymore so you can keep it."

"Well thanks!" I answered with a grin on my face as I struggled the bag on my back. That was definitely one thing I would have to get used to. "Let's go!"

We left Mineral Town and were almost to Forget-Me-Not Valley when I heard a strange noise come from one of the trees. Just some animal or something, I figured. I quickly forgot about it once I first set my eyes on the valley. It was so stunningly beautiful. It was a big change from the city – a big and pleasant change.

When looking for my house, I happened to remember that whoever I got the house from mailed me a piece of paper that tried to explain how to find the house. Once I got it out, I was still very confused by it. Nothing looked familiar and the person's handwriting was barely even legible. Claire picked up on my confusion and took the piece of paper from me.

"Uhh..." she paused. "You're sure that you bought a house in the VALLEY, right?"

"..yeah... why?"

"Well... this is a poorly drawn map of Sunshine Islands, I think." I remained quiet, beginning to doubt myself. "No, this is it." Claire says, "You said it was an abandoned farm, right? Well I know for a fact this place has one exactly like what you described. Lucky for you, I come here enough to know where that is."

My eyes lit up. Oh good... It would have been just my luck to buy the completely wrong house. Truth is, I wouldn't even know my house if I were to see it. You may think it was crazy to buy a house without even seeing a picture of it, and I admit, it is. But that was one of the only houses I could afford. What made this one be the deciding factor was that it had a farm along with it, even if it was abandoned.

Claire found her way to the farm and walked me in. It was... not quite what I was expecting after seeing her huge farm, but I still liked it. It was cute. It had a small house, a tool shed, and another little building I wasn't quite sure what was yet. The field in the middle was randomly empty. That didn't matter, I would very likely fill up that space later on anyways. But the soil in the vacant space was unlike Claire's – it was so hard and compacted that it didn't seem suitable for growing anything other than grass. Once I began looking around, however, I did spot a couple of small patches of soil that looked capable of growing crops. And... was that... another house?Was somebody else supposed to live here on the farm with me? I stopped in front the first house we saw (the one close to the main entrance) and turned towards Claire, pointing at the house. Before I could speak, she was already halfway through the door of the second house. Once she was in, she dropped one of my bags.

"Jill! It's so cute! I love it!"

How did she know this one was mine? I know she came here some, so did that mean she knew who the other house belonged to? I walked in and found a bed, dresser-like thing, bookshelf, clock, very small TV set, and a couch. I didn't know that the house came with stuff already in it. Another plus for me! Claire quickly inspected the little cabin, making sure everything was in good condition, not that I couldn't have done that myself. She was just looking out for me, and that was simply the Claire I knew.

"Jill, if you ever have any problems, let me know and I'll be over here in a heartbeat. Hmm.. but you don't have a phone yet.. Van sells phones, though! That's how I got mine. Van, remember that traveling salesman that I took you too in the Inn one day? He comes here, too, so be sure to visit him when he stops by. Even if you call or not, I'll be sure to stop by occasionally!" She paused before continuing, "But I do have to get back to Mineral Town now. I have a date tonight with the Doctor," she finished with a cheesy smile. "Well, bye and good luck!" After a swift hug, she was gone.

I sat there on my bed, letting it sink in that I really was out on my own from that point onward. Would I be able to do it? Could I really run a successful farm? Did I have enough strength to do all of this.. by myself? ….What was all of this pessimism running through my mind? Of course I'd be able to succeed! Sure it may not be easy, but definitely do-able. Plus, nobody said I would be by myself. I have Claire here for me in case I need help. And my mom, too! Whenever they come over to visit, however... where on earth would they sleep? The only bed here was mine... I then realized that I didn't even have a kitchen or a bathroom. Oh geez, pretty rough living, I see... well. First and foremost, I needed to save up money for getting house extensions and upgrades. The first small step in that direction would be to plant the seeds that Claire gave me, but I needn't get ahead of myself. First I needed to unpack my things and get settled in; and that I did.

I unpacked my things very slowly. I took each article of clothing out of my bags one by one and laid them neatly in a dresser drawer. Next things to come out were a couple of pictures in frames, and I proceeded to set them on top of the dresser. One of the two was a picture of me when I was a baby being held by my mother and father. My dad had died shortly after I was born so.. I never really got to know him. My mother was still living though, and that made me very happy. I loved my mother, and I didn't know what I'd ever do if she died. The second picture I pulled out was a very recent picture of my mother. It made me sad thinking about how we had to be separated. She had decided to go back to school, and she was going to live on campus. It was pretty far from where we lived and would cost more to drive to and from daily. She sold our house and gave me some money towards buying my own. We made a deal that she would come and stay on any breaks from school that she had. A smile covered my face as I thought about my mother.

When I was finished putting everything away I looked at the clock – surprised to see that was already 8, which is weird because I only had two bags to unpack. Oh well. I had just noticed that beside the bookshelf hung a calendar. Strangely, it was up-to-date. Maybe that was my house-warming gift or something? It was Spring... day 4. I would be 18 near the end of the month. The 21st to be exact.

I rested on my bed for a while, staring at the ceiling. I loved how quiet it was; it was never like this in the city. Before I knew it, I had fallen peacefully asleep.

A/N, now that the chapter is redone, I hope it sounds a little better. Please review if you like it and let me know what you think :D

Please note that this is the only chapter I have updated thus far, and the others will be back in present tense (and probably not written as well). Just a fair warning ^_^