Hello all! I've been wanting to do a sort of novelized version of Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life. As stated in the description, I have to warn readers that this could potentially be a very slow story so approach with an open mind!
Takakura stared out at the small, secluded beach of Forget-Me-Not Valley and remembered when he checked his post box, 'It all started with a letter... I hadn't gotten a letter in a long time. It was in a bright ed envelope and it was from the daughter of a friend. She wrote about her life in the city and asked all kinds of questions about the farm.' The older man thought to himself and quietly watched the waves and remembered the curling and delicate handwriting.
'On the last line, she said this; "I want to try working on the farm."' He chuckled a bit and gave a small shake if his head, 'To a city girl, a place like Forget-Me-Not Valley must be interesting, I guess.'
He gave a bit of a sigh, 'While I was thinking that, I was reminded of my old friend. Of his face..'
Takakura stared out at the small, secluded beach of Forget-Me-Not Valley and didn't turn immediately at the soft crunching noise of boots in the sand approaching. He looked to the brown haired, purple eyed young woman standing before him and a tiny smile crept into his old features, "You're your father's daughter, alright." He told her as he gave her a nod, speaking out loud for the first time in a while. The smile on his face turned to a slight downward frown, "It's a shame about your father. Fate works in mysterious ways." He gave another quiet sigh, "Anyway, I'm sure he's in a better place."
She gave him a sad smile and nodded in agreement, her amethyst eyes glistening in the sunrise with unshed tears.
He beckoned her with a wave of his hand and began heading in the opposite direction of the shore, "Come on... The farm's this way."
She slowly followed and wiped at her eyes with the back of a gloved hand.
"Imagine a young girl wanting to come to Forget-Me-Not Valley... You're a strange one, just like your father." He murmured quietly as they made their way up the hill on the beaten path to the farmstead.
They walked past a two story oriental themed building, "Anyway... If you try living here, you'll find out if it's for you or not." He said with a shrug.
They trudged further up another path walled with rocky blooming trees They stopped at a wooden waist high fence overlooking a small field of immature grass. The older man have a slight wave of his hand in indication of the stead, "Here we are."
The girl couldn't help smiling quietly at the familiar scene. Takakura gave a nod as he remembered as well, "They're a little old, but the buildings are still usable, and there are fields." He paused for a moment before speaking again, "And if you spread a little fertilizer in this pasture, it could be used for grazing animals..." He turned to give her a stern look, "Let me tell you... We don't have any of your city conveniences here."
She turned to face him, her expression a hopeful smile.
He just gave a nod before looking back to the pasture, "But, it'll grow on you. There are lots of things here that you'd never see in the city. It's up to you." He said with a simply.
She nodded thoughtfully and turned to eye the simply fenced pasture with the lone tree in the center.
"Take your time and think about it." He told quietly before looking past her toward the remainder of the farm. It was a few moments before he said anything else, "Alright, let's look inside."
She gave him a sudden but eager grin and followed him as further into her father's old farm. She took a deep breath, the air was still crisp with the last days of winter lingering in the land. She shook her head as childhood memories bubbled up. She was running barefoot through the high grass of the pasture and embraced the foreleg of a tawny brown cow who was chewing absently on a wad of the vegetation. The gentle animal nuzzled the small girl's head good-naturedly and earned a giggle from the little girl as she buried her face in the smooth coat on the chest of the calm animal.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the older man stopping in front of the first main building. He gestured to with a hand and ran a hand over his salt and pepper slicked back hair, "This is the Barn. You can keep cows, horses and sheep here. I'll show you the inside later." She nodded and realized it looked the same as when she was little but a little older and dirtier, with the tan and once white and bright green roof. He pointed further over, "Next door is the tool shed."
She looked over to where he pointed and gave a tilt of her head as she walked over to stand in front of the squat, flat topped shed attached to the larger parent building. He stood next to her, "There are shelves for tools and other things in there. Feel free to use the tools in here."
She just nodded again, her father never allowed here in there without him, saying it was dangerous because of the sharpened tools.
"The tools you will need right away are on the tool shelf, and some crops are on the shelf too, come and get them later." He said and turned around to face a tall narrow building directly across from the animal housing, "This is the food storage. Put milk, eggs and other things you want to sell in here. I'll take them to the city the next day." He told her and looked at her and thought she was awful quiet, she hadn't spoken a word out loud, no questions, just the occasional nod and smile of acknowledgment. He remembered when she was little and would visit with her mother to see her father, how she ran around giggling and out of breath when she chased a chicken. He knew she understood what he was saying and he appreciated not being bombarded with questions or complaints of the state of the homestead.
He gave a slight shake of his head and smiled to himself, remembering how she would park herself beneath the old tree in the pasture with the same chicken she had been chasing in her lap, petting and cuddling the bird quietly. He'd never seen anyone give so much affection to the birds, it was unusual but it warmed his heart.
She had been studying the tall, tower-like building thoughtfully with a gloved hand to her chin. He gestured as he spoke, "If there's anything you want me to buy for you, there's an order form here, so just write it down." He then beckoned for her to follow as he headed deeper into the farm. They stopped at a small beige buiding with a blue roof, "This is the chicken coop. You can raise chickens here." He told her quietly and saw out of the corner of his eye that she was smiling, probably at the prospect of having chickens again, he always remembered the birds were her favorite and her father would laugh jovially at her carting them around the farm, chatting away to the feathered creatures.
There was a pair of sharp barks from nearby and they both turned to see two small dogs scampering toward them, both wearing red bandanas around their necks. Both of the tan colored dogs had white on their snouts and paws, looking almost like they wore little socks. One of the canines had floppy ears and an equally drooping face, the other with pointed ears and small eyes. The both jumped up at her, panting and yelping happily, obviously familiar with people. She knelt and scratched behind their ears with each hand.
She looked up when Takakura spoke, "It looks like we have some stray dogs her. They seem to like you." He gave frown and saw the look of hope on her face and gave in, ". . .Oh, alright. But I'm not too fond of dogs, so just one, okay?"
She grinned and nodded eagerly when he shook his head, amused, "Which one do you want to keep?"
She picked up the floppy eared dog and held him close to her chest, struggling against his constant licking of her face.
"Ok, why don't you pick out a name for him?" He asked and knelt to the pointy eared dog and held out a hand for it to sniff.
She spoke up for the first time since he'd met up with her, "I like the name Sonny." She said quietly as she scratched behind the dog's ears.
He smiled as he stood and watched as she put down her new pet, "All right. I'll find an owner for the other one in the city."
She smiled to him, "Thank you."
He nodded as he turned around and headed back from the way they came, and stopped and turned back, "I'll make a dog house for him later, too."
They both walked to stand in front of the small house tucked in the corner of the farmstead, "And this is your house."
The girl found herself smiling as she looked up at the little building, it looked the same as ever with it's log cabin walls and corrugated metal roofing with awning over the front door.
"I've fixed it up a bit so you can move right in." Takakura said with a nod.
"Thank you, Takakura-san." She suddenly but politely, her voice genuinely grateful.
He was so used to her not speaking so far, he started slightly and looked to her see her smiling, seeming relieved. He only nodded in acknowledgement. The girl seemed to realize something and piped up, "Where is your house?"
He scratched his head, "Oh.. My house? My house is over there." He turned and pointed near the entrance. "The building next to the food storage is my house."
She nodded and seemed grateful for not being alone on the hunk of land. She had been watching the slowly falling pink blossoms from the large trees surrounding the farm as they landed to the ground when the older man cleared his throat, "Well, that's about it for now. When you get the hang of things, you may want to add more buildings." He told her gruffly. Her eyes widened, as if the thought of adding to her father and Takakura's farm never occurred to her. He gave a nod at her expression, as if to confirm that she could.
He started to slowly make his way to the entrance when he suddenly stopped, "Oh, yeah. Come here for a minute." He told her with a rare smile as he headed toward the barn with a wave of his hand.
She gave him a quizzical look as he opened the double doors and walked in, holding the door open for her. She followed him in curiously to see the surprisingly well lit interior of the barn with sunlight spilling onto the hay strewn flooring and lone trough in the middle. She gave a gasp of delight at the animal standing at said trough, chewing peacefully on a wad of hay.
"I bought you one female cow. This is her feedbox. I'd like you to give her a name." He said as the girl suppressed a squeal of glee and made her way to the bovine who looked at her with a tilt of her head and spark of interest in her big brown eyes.
The girl had been stroking the animal's side and head before she spoke, "I think... Betsy would be a good name for her..." She said quietly but loud enough for him to hear.
"Betsy? That's a good name. Our first cow. This is cause for celebration. Take good care of her, now." He said with another smile as the girl planted a kiss on the newly named Betsy's head who mooed and nosed at her face. "By the way, it's been about ten days since this cow gave birth, so you can milk her a couple of times a day for now."
The girl smiled widely and wrapped her arms around the bovine's neck affectionately before she followed her neighbor out of the barn. They stepped into the still chilly air of the outside and Takakura closed the door behind them and turned to face her, "I think that's everything. Oh, almost forgot! You've got to think of a name for the farm, any good ideas?"
She looked at him with a furrowed brow and gave him a look of perplexity. He shook his head, "Your father never officially named it. Everyone always just called it 'The Farm'." He said with a chuckle.
She blinked and put a hand to her chin thoughtfully and eyed the blossoming trees bordering the stead, "How about 'Maple'?"
He followed her gaze to the trees, "You know your trees." He said with a smile, "I suppose that's a fitting name. 'Maple' it is." He cleared he throat, "All right. While we're at it, let me introduce you to the people who live here."
She blinked and gave a hesitant nod. He didn't seem to notice as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm not really a people person, but you're still young, so you probably need some friends. Let's go..."
She pursed her lips nervously but followed him out of the farm and down the slight slope and to the large two story oriental style building they first walked past to get to the farm. They stopped in front of it to see a short stocky woman with short black hair and round face exiting the building. She stopped and looked to them when she saw them approaching. Her face lit up with a smile and she immediately hurried back inside and could be heard yelling something in what sounded like Japanese. The girl blinked and looked at Takakura who didn't respond as they waited for the older woman to come back.
She returned breathlessly with two other people in tow. Takakura finally spoke up when they stood outside of the double doors to the building, "This is Tim and his wife Ruby. They run the Inner Inn. And their son Rock. How should I introduce you?"
The brunette girl gave a shy smile before she spoke up, "Jill is fine."
"Jill? I see." Her father's friend said with a nod.
Both the woman and man bowed politely while the young man gave her a mischievous wink and grin and Jill predictically blushed to a brilliant shade of red before Takakura spoke up again, "Oh. . . And there's a girl named Nami staying on the second floor here."
Jill looked up and almost expected to see her but only saw the empty balcony above the entrance to the inn. She swallowed and nodded and noticed that Rock looked almost nothing like his parents with blond hair, darker skin and almost gold eyes in contrast to their pale skin, dark hair and brown eyes. Jill bowed slightly, "I'll be staying at the farm up the hill." She said quietly.
"It'll be good to have a farmer up there again." Tim said with a grin. "Hope we'll be good neighbors!"
Jill quickly gave them a farewell bow before hurrying after Takakura as he started heading further into the village. The two stopped in front of a small house just in time to see an elderly couple walking out. They stopped when they caught sight of the two farmers walking towards them. Takakura was the first to speak, "This is Galen and his wife Nina."
Jill bowed politely with a smile, "Pleased to meet you, my name is Jill, I'm going to be living at the farm up the hill." She said as she gestured to the right where her and Takakura came from.
The woman nudged her husband in the side with an elbow, "What a lovely girl, very pleased to make your acquaintance." She said with a kind smile. "It will be so nice to have someone living at that farm after so long."
Galen only nodded in agreement and gave a small smile and nodded to her. They both bowed to Jill courteously and continued on their way as Takakura headed further down the cobbled path. Jill caught up with him and heard a jingling of keys as a young red-headed woman dressed in a pink business outfit turned to them from locking the front door on a two story building. She smiled at them and adjusted her large fashion glasses, "Hello! I don't think I've seen you around here." She said happily to the other woman as the two approached her.
Takakura was the first to respond, "This is Chris."
Jill bowed her head, "My name is Jill and I will be living at the farm up the hill." She said less timidly, getting used to talking to the people of the Valley.
"Pleased to meet you, Jill. If you'll excuse me, I have to start my commute to work in the city, I'll see you around!" She said with a wave as she hurried off.
Jill watched her go as her farmstead neighbor gestured for her to follow to a nearby well across the two buildings where a man and boy stood. They both had brown hair and wore athletic outfits as they stretched. They turned to look at them as Takakura spoke, "This is her husband Wally and their son Hugh."
They both gave a friendly wave before Jill spoke up, "Hello, I'm Jill and I will be living at the farm up the hill." She was starting to feel like a broken record as she repeated the phrase to each villager.
"Good to meet you." Wally said as he started running in place, his son soon following suit. "Pardon us, but we must be going. We go on a run every morning. See you around!" He added over his shoulder as they ran off.
The farmers watched the two dash off. "Well, let's keep going." Takakura said quietly and led her toward a small building to the left of the well. A blond girl with a pale complexion, a snug red dress and heels to match, stepped out with a yawn. An older man followed suit with a brown moustache, short ponytail, and was dressed like a very laid back cowboy with boots, jeans and an partially unbuttoned shirt. Takakura and Jill stopped in front of them, "Griffen is the Blue Bar's owner and Muffy works there part time." Takakura introduced.
Jill's face flushed slightly and she bowed slightly, "I'm Jill and I'm going to be living at the farm up the hill."
The other girl eyed her with interest in her green eyes, "How nice! It will be nice to have another girl here." Jill smiled shyly as Griffin nodded with a smile under his mustache. "Come on down to the Bar at the end of your day to relax, you won't be disappointed." The man said with a smile and nod.
Takakura was already heading off in the direction they had been initially going and Jill gave them a quick wave and went to catch up with him as soon as he reached the base of the cobbled path inclining up a hill lined regally with lamp posts and more trees. They walked through the cement and metal entryway leading to a huge mansion. Jill looked up at it with wide eyes and thought it was a little strange for a mansion to be in a village as small as Forget Me Not Valley.
An older woman in a dress with a shawl and bright pink folded parasol was talking with a taller elderly man dressed smartly in slacks and a green vest. He was watering a pot of flowers with a metal watering can and they both turned to the farmers when they approached. A younger girl in jeans, white blouse and orange ascot with light brown hair came out of the mansion through one of the huge double doors.
"Romana lives in the Villa with her granddaughter Lumina. And that's their butler Sebastian." Takakura said to Jill as they stopped in front of the two.
Jill bent forward courteously, "My name is Jill and I will be living at the farm in the valley before the bridge."
Lumina gave her a shy smile and fiddled with the acsot scarf at her neck as Romana spoke up, "Pleased to meet you, dearie. It will be nice to have someone running that old farm."
Sebastian returned her bow with his own and smiled before the two farmers turned to leave. Jill gave them a wave before they headed back down the paved slope.
They were almost to the bar when Jill heard soft music. She stopped and looked around until her gaze settled on a figure wearing a large green pointed hat sitting underneath a tree. "Oh, that guy playing the guitar over there is Gustafa. He's always playing that guitar of his." Takakura said, answering her silent question. They continued forward and Jill gave the individual one last curious look before following Takakura.
They walked past Jill's new home and headed across the bridge to the neighboring farm. They stopped at the wooden fence bordering the stead and Jill eyed the three individuals in the empty crop field.
"Vesta also runs a farm here." Takakura said quietly to Jill.
As if on cue, the large red-headed woman wearing bright pink rainboots, jeans and a yellow apron turned to face the two and gave them a grin and wave, "Hello! I suppose you're our new neighbor!" She said jovially, causing the other two nearby to turn and face them.
Jill smiled shyly, unsure of what to make of the loud woman. Takakura spoke up again, "Over there is Vesta's brother Marlin, and that's Celia, who helps them with their work. They'll sell you seeds for your crops."
Celia was wearing a long sleeved dark green dress and light green apron with an orange hair scarf over her long brown hair. She gave Jill and friendly wave and smile. Marlin on the other hand wore jeans, a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He ran a hand over his black hair, smoothing it further as he looked at her with an almost frown before he tucked his hands in his jean pockets before giving her a nod in greeting.
Jill's cheeks flushed slightly before she bowed her head politely, feeling suddenly more shy, "My name is Jill and I'll be living at the other farm across the bridge. I look forward to doing business with you all."