Chapter 1- Stepping into the shadow of a new life

I'll never forget the day I received that phone call. My entire life came to a crashing halt.

A lower, firm voice spoke to me after a small hesitation, "Hello…? Jill? This is Takakura, I'm calling to inform you that your father…"

I never thought it would be so easy to just drop everything in my life, but the farm was my father's dream, and his legacy. I left my father behind to pursue a life I thought I wanted, and I can't help but wonder if that has anything to do with how soon he passed. No matter what, I'm going to make Harvest Farm a success.

That's how I feel, but I can't help but be nervous! Today is the day that I'm taking all of my belongings and meeting Takakura at the train station. Takakura is an old family friend, my dad's best friend as a matter of fact, they both managed Harvest Farm together; the success of the farm was both of their passions. I'm sure Forget-Me-Not Valley has significantly changed since my childhood. My heart is pounding with anticipation and a small amount of anxiety. I wonder… will anyone remember me?

As I was staring off into the distance at the train station, contemplating my future, a shadow appeared behind me.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out to me, I turned around to see a tall, weathered old man facing me. "It's me, Takakura. My, my, you've sure grown up a lot since you've left", he spoke in a fatherly tone of voice, "I hope you've been well".

"I've been doing fine, until, y'know, the call…" my voice trailed off- making Takakura feel bad wasn't my intention in the slightest, so I quickly change the subject. "How have things on the farm been?" I asked him in a curious voice.

"Well…." He trailed off

[. . .]

"ACK!" I cried out upon seeing the catastrophe in front of my eyes.

We had arrived on the farm after about a two hour long train ride, I was so excited I could hardly wait to get here, but I wasn't expecting this! The farm was a mess- the fields were covered in stones, sticks, and weeds! The only buildings were my soon-to-be new house, Takakura's house, and one single, empty stable. I mean, I can hardly blame them, you can't exactly expect two very old men to properly take care of meticulous work like weeding and de-cluttering the fields. I'm just kind of surprised there's no stable for cows or-

"In case you were wondering, " Takakura interrupted my thoughts with perfect timing, "We used to have several stables for cows and chickens, however, tsunami's frequent our area- the material used wasn't sturdy enough to withstand the storms." He looked off into the distance with a solemn look on his face, "after the first few times we just weren't able to go through the process again. I'm sorry to start you off on the farm with so much work ahead of you. I'll help out as much as I can."

After hearing that, I started to feel bad, of course they had multiple stables and what not, my dad devoted his life to his work. And I'm going to do the same!

"Takakura!", I exclaimed after a small hesitation, "I'm definitely going to give it my all on the farm! You and I will work together to restore Harvest Farm to its original glory! We'll accomplish yours and dad's ambitions, and even more!"

Takakura laughed for a bit and with a warm smile he responded, "there's nothing I'd love more. But first, we should go around town and introduce you to everyone. As much as I want you to focus on your farm work, having a social life is important, too". I nodded and followed behind Takakura, feeling apprehensive about my introduction.

A few hours went by as I met several new people. There are so many new faces in Forget-Me-Not Valley, I had to ask Takakura what some people's names were again along the way. Takakura didn't seem to mind helping me memorize everyone's names, either, I'm sure he understands the hassle of meeting so many new people all at once. There were a handful of people that I remember from my childhood though: Nina & Galen, Romana and Dr. Hardy are all familiar to me, but they all look so different now.

"It's really cool that the Inner Inn is full of people now! Back when I lived here, it was always vacant. Everyone staying there seemed really nice too" I mentioned to Takakura while walking to the next person I'm to meet, "The girl with the short red hair seemed really cool, I'd love to be friends with her!" I exclaimed very excitedly.

Takakura responded, "That's Nami, she's practically Tim & Ruby's daughter. Don't expect her to stay for too long, she's a traveler at heart" A look of disappointment stretched across my face, Takakura seemed to notice. "But so are Tim & Ruby, the reason the Inn was always vacant was because they were off traveling, themselves" he said, trying to explain things better. I really appreciate the sweet, fatherly side Takakura has sometimes, it really makes me feel nostalgic.

As we were walking towards the beach, the faint sound of music could be heard playing. I looked around to see the figure of a man sitting on a hill and playing the guitar. He was wearing a large sombrero and sitting next to a very colorful hut.

"Who is that?" I ask Takakura, now pointing to the source of the faint music.

"Oh, that's Gustafa. He's the local hippie, and a pretty decent musician. We should go over there next", Takakura replied as he led me up the hill. The melody grew louder as we finally made our way up the hill, then suddenly, it stopped.

"Hey!" an unacquainted voice called out, "How's it going?" Sitting there was a man who appeared to be a few years older than myself. Seeing him up close, his large green sombrero had flowers weaved through it, he wore large purple sunglasses, he had a large beard, and he wore very colorful clothes that matched what appeared to be his home. He's facing me, but I can't exactly tell if our eyes are locked, I can't really see through his shades.

"Hello, Gustafa", Takakura replied, "This is Jill. She's going to be taking over her father's place on Harvest Farm with me, and I was just going around introducing her to everyone". Takakura gestured over for me to say something to Gustafa; I panicked from being lost in thought.

"Oh, ah, i-it's nice to meet you!" the words fumbled out of my mouth, "I, er, really liked your music. You're really talented" I could feel a slight blush coming across my face, I really need to stop getting lost in my thoughts, it really makes me look like a ditzy person.

"Thank you!" Gustafa's face brightened as he responded, "maybe sometime I could play a song for you" he started strumming his guitar lightly.

Takakura's body language suggested he might be getting impatient, "that would be nice, but Jill has to go finish meeting everyone in town still, before it gets too dark out". I looked over to the sun that was setting beautifully over the winding path, leading up into the hills. Takakura is right, I've still yet to meet anybody that lives on the other side of the bridge, and the sun's already almost down.

"Oh, that's too bad" Gustafa murmured in response, "maybe some other time then". I smiled, nodded, and waved goodbye, just as I did to everyone else prior.

As we were walking away, Takakura spoke up, "I'm sorry if I cut you two short, I'd just like to get introductions taken care of on day one". We were crossing the bridge and nearing the other farm. I had noticed that farm earlier on my way to Forget-Me-Not Valley.

"Nah, don't worry about that, it's no big deal" I disregarded that topic and pursued a new one, "What's up with this though? When did a second farm develop here?" I have to admit, having such a large rival like this right off bat was kind of nerve-wracking.

Takakura smiled gently, "There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. Think of them more as farming allies than farming rivals. You can even buy seeds from them" he reassured me. It appears that this farm only works with produce and not livestock, I noticed during my surveillance of their property. At least we'll have that over them I thought to myself. I can't help but be a naturally competitive person.

Takakura seemed to really enjoy being around Vesta, Marlin, and Celia. They seemed like really great people too, very kind-hearted, and offering me all sorts of advice for my new life on the farm. Now I feel kind of bad for forming a rivalry with them in my mind, I can see that they really are more like allies than competitors.

We also met a couple working together at a rune excavation site, I thought it was super interesting what they were doing and they even offered for me to help out sometime! Carter and Flora were their names, I think. We stopped by to see Galen and Nina before heading home for the night, they were really glad to see me again. In a way, they're like the grandparents I never had. It'll be nice to see them all the time now!

I had finally officially met everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley and by the end, I was very fatigued- who knew meeting people all day long would be so exhausting? We had just gotten to Harvest Farm when Takakura stopped immediately.

"Ah, sorry, Jill, you can go head on and go rest for the night", Takakura spoke up, "I forgot to give Vesta the money I owed her from the fertilizer I got the other day". He was clearly fatigued from the long day as well, there was no way I'd let him go all the way back out there.

"I've got it, no worries!" I exclaimed to him, "I'll return it for you. Now that I've officially met Vesta, I should probably get used to interacting with her, haha". A soft, warm look washed over Takakura's face, as if he knew that I was just doing this for his sake.

"Be safe and hurry back", he replied, "We have an even longer day ahead of us tomorrow". Takakura reached into his pocket and handed me the money I was to deliver. After I skipped off in the direction of Vesta's farm, he turned around and staggered into his home.

As expected, I shortly made it to Vesta's safe and sound. Marlin, Vesta's younger brother, answered the door in a grumpy manner, as if my late night visit was bothersome. His temper gave me a sense of uneasiness, so I quickly gave him the money along with the explanation for it, and turned around to be on my way.

The night sky illuminated the path for me, the stars always shimmered with such beauty in Forget-Me-Not Valley a sense of nostalgia flooded me once again. Since I delivered the money, there's no real rush for me to hurry home. Besides, it's so safe here, I thought to myself as I gazed up into the night sky. I must've been so distracted I didn't hear the sound of someone approaching me from behind.

"The stars are almost as beautiful as you are" an unfamiliar voice whispered into my ear. My heart was racing as I jumped back, absolutely startled by the voice.

In front of me was the most beautiful man I'd ever laid eyes on: he had long, shoulder length silver hair, bright green eyes, and a voice so smooth he could've swept me away right then and there. The mysterious man had a particular fashion sense- he wore a flashy grey cheetah-print shirt, elegant purple pants, and various accessories. I could feel myself significantly blushing at not just the sight of him, but what he has just whispered into my ear.

"W-Who are you? I thought I had met everyone in Forget-Me-Not Valley today" I asked the beautiful stranger. As his eyes scanned me up and down, I could feel my face glowing more and more red.

"I thought I hadn't seen your gorgeous face around here before", he responded with a sly smile, "You can call me Skye".

/Chapter 1- end/