Sakura was greeted warmly by her grandparents and she was the happiest she had ever been for as long as she could remember. She loved her grandparents; they didn't have high expectations of her and they didn't pressure her to do what she didn't want to do. They loved her for who she was and encouraged her to do the best she could do. Her grandparents helped her settle in to the farmhouse as they did some last minute packing.

"We're leaving this house fully furnished for you, Sakura. It will make your transition to the farm life easier."

Sakura's grandparents were getting older and they were unable to take care of the farm anymore, especially because Sakura's grandmother recently sprained her wrist from slipping in the mud on a rainy day. Farm work without a helper made life a little harder for Sakura's grandfather so they decided to retire. They offered the farm as an inheritance to their children but no one wanted to leave their comfortable lives in the city. Sakura was the only one to accept their offer.

Before the sun went down, Sakura's grandfather showed her the basics of tilling the field and the purpose of each tool while Sakura's grandmother prepared dinner. Sakura's head was spinning as her grandfather explained farming thoroughly. She couldn't dig irrigation trenches too deeply. When watering the crops, she shouldn't overwater them or else the crops will drown. A weed looked like this while a crop sprout looked like that. Only certain crops could be planted during certain seasons while special crops could survive through all seasons. Planting fruit and tea trees required a lot of space and could only be planted in a certain area of the farm. Sakura could only nod and do her best to remember everything her grandfather had said. She hoped she would be able to keep up the farm's excellent condition after her grandparents left. The next morning, Sakura's grandparents left, but not before giving Sakura all their blessings.

"We promise we'll come visit, Sakura."

And before she knew it, Sakura was by herself on the farm.

The farm had a large field for farming and there was a small barn for some livestock and poultry. The farmhouse had two bedrooms and Sakura liked how each bedroom had a small bathroom; the living room had two couches and the kitchen was spacious with a round dining table that was enough for three. Now that her grandparents were gone, she felt a little lonely but the overall situation was exciting. As Sakura sat in her new bed, she couldn't help but wonder what to do next. Now that she was at her farm, what else was she going to do besides work? Farming sounded too simple but at the same time it sounded extremely complicated. She glanced at her phone on the nightstand; she didn't even tell her friends where she was going or for how long she would be absent from their lives. The countryside, after all, had no internet or phone service.

"Well," she sighed to herself, "the only thing left to do is keep moving forward."

When morning came, Sakura glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nine o'clock. She groaned, remembering her grandfather's instruction that the ideal time for a farmer to start his day was at six o'clock in the morning. Sakura heaved herself into the bathroom and washed her face with cold water to rid herself of her sleepiness. She changed into a dress and a pair of working boots that her grandmother had given her as a gift. She tied her hair into a bun and set out to work on the farm. She weeded the fields and watered them, hoping that she wouldn't kill the crops her grandfather had left for her to take care of. She glanced around; there was nothing else to do. She decided to venture out into the village.

Konohana was a beautiful town with oriental-inspired buildings. The first building Sakura saw when she reached the town was a small house that belonged to Dirk, the mailman. He was a cheerful young man who delivered mail to both Konohana and Bluebell, a town that sat on the foot of the other side of the mountain. She met Sheng, an old man dressed in a panda-inspired outfit, who welcomed her to the village with a cup of sake and an offer to share panda stories with her whenever she had the time to visit. She politely accepted his offer. Sakura ventured into the town and met Ina, the town mayor, and her son Rahi. They introduced her to Gombe and Nori, an old man and his granddaughter who ran a store that sold seeds and tree sprouts. Dr. Ayame and her apprentice, Hiro, worked at the local clinic. Raul owned the general goods store and Yun owned the town's restaurant with her granddaughter, Ying. Mako and his niece, Reina, own the orchards in the southern part of town.

Everyone greeted Sakura cheerfully. It was refreshing to see a new face around town and they all wished her luck with her farming.

"Your grandmother was a fine woman. She even shared some of her recipes with me and allowed me to use them on my menu! If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask me, Sakura dear."

"Thank you, Yun."

Sakura's heart was brimming with happiness as she walked back to the farm. She didn't know what it was about the townspeople but they made her feel happy and welcome. She wasn't watching where she was going, which resulted in her bumping into someone.

"Whoa, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!"

Strong arms reached out to steady her and Sakura blushed. The person she had bumped into was a really handsome guy.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault! I should've been paying more attention."

"Nah, don't worry about it! Are you new here? I haven't seen you around before."

"Well, if that's the case, then I guess I am new around here."

He laughed and Sakura found that she liked the sound of his laughter. It was warm and carefree.

"I guess you've got a point there. I'm Kana. I run the pet shop and horse stable."

"I'm Sakura. I live at the farm just down the road."

"Oh, you're Old Man Ito's grandkid? You're lucky! Old Man Ito taught me tons of stuff! It's too bad to see Old Man Ito leave but since you're his grankid, I'm sure you'll be cool like him."

Sakura chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"I hope so."

"Anyway, I gotta check up on my horses. See you around!"

"Yeah, see you around."

Sakura continued on her way to the farm, frequently glancing back at the handsome Kana until he disappeared from sight.