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in the middle of the endless ocean, a large circular island occupies the salty waters, accompanied by a small crescent shaped island, the large island has a tall mountain, a waterfall, a river and lots of tropical forestry. In the midst of the local wildlife, a town, a city and a few villages inhabit the island, the crescent shaped island has hotels, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other forms of entertainment, but most of the buildings are closed and boarded up. A big ship is seen sailing toward the lonely islands...
"LAAAAND-HOOO!" The captain yelled at the loudspeaker.
"Look, Marcus, there's the islands!" said a girl's voice.
"I see them too!" said a boy's voice. "Wow, look at them Orchid, they're beautiful."
The pair of voices belong to a young man and a young woman who are viewing the island on the ship deck. Orchid had on an orchid hair pin as per her namesake, and wore green and brown pants, white blouse and brown work boots. She had short pink hair, aquamarine eyes, and tan skin.
Marcus and Orchid noticed two islands at first, then they seemed to disappear into fog...
"Hey, where'd those two islands go?" Orchid asked the sailor.
"Aye, those are the Cursed islands." said a sailor. "They only appear once in a while, so most don't believe they actually exist. They're probably just a mirage."
"Wow!"
Marcus wore blue jeans, a white shirt, brown vest and tan cowboy boots. He had dark brown shabby hair, light brown eyes, and white skin.
Behind the pair, a male sailor approached them and said...
"So, you two visiting Freestar Island, huh?"
"Yep." said Marcus.
"I been looking forward to this vacation for a long time." said Orchid.
"Heh-heh, good luck having fun there, there's not much to offer in that place." Said the sailor. "This recession is really hurting everyone."
The sailor left to return to work. It wasn't long before the ship dock at Freestar City Port, upon exiting the ship, Marcus and Orchid arrived at Freestar City and discover that the city itself has seen better days, many buildings (mostly apartments) decaying, a few factories abandoned, closed shops including a few restaurants and bars boarded up, what's even worse, the people living in the city are living miserably and most of them in poverty, a few criminals and dozens of homeless folks roamed the streets. On the outside of the port, a middle aged medium long brown haired, tan skinned woman with hazel eyes wearing a gray business suit and black formal shoes is carrying a cardboard sign that reads "Marcus and Orchid". As soon as Marcus and Orchid saw the sign, they walked toward the woman.
"Uh, ma'am, are you looking for us?" asked Marcus.
"Ah, you must be the new farmers." said Monica, the mayor of Heiwa Town. "Welcome to Freestar Island, my name is Monica, the mayor of Heiwa Town."
"Farmers? "Um. We're not farmers..." Orchid explained.
"Yeah, you must have us confused with someone else..." Marcus explained further. "We're just tourists."
"Listen, i know the island's not much, and you're just visiting, but please hear me out." Said Monica. "The entire country is falling on hard times because of the global recession, chaos haunts our home and our president is growing more aggressive by the day. Our people are losing faith, and many of them don't even want to help anymore, not even work at the farm, and because of the lack of farmers, we barely have enough food for everyone here. I know this is asking a lot, but can you please help us?"
The two farmers looked at the city one more time and said...
"Oh my, this will be quite a challenge." said Orchid. "But if tending the fields will help the whole island, then we'll do it. You with me, Marcus?"
"Ugh, fine." Marcus groaned. "You're lucky we needed a new job since we got laid off."
Monica invites the two farmers onboard her mayoral boat for a tour of Freestar Island.
"By the way, how did you know us?" asked Marcus.
"Let's say that i am an acquaintance of your former boss." Mayor Monica answered. "Anyway, outside of Freestar City, is our town called Heiwa Town which is a couple hundred miles away from the city, both our town and city is powered by windmills, in case you're worried about the environment. Anyway, far in the forest is a few native villages, where we buy our food, and across the river is the presidential lands, which is strictly off limits."
After touring the island, the mayoral boat ported the Heiwa Town Harbor. Mayor Monica, Marcus and Orchid exited the boat and walked toward the town.
"Come on, i'll introduce you to the town." Said Monica.
The trio arrived at Heiwa Town Square, home to the town's government buildings. Mayor Monica said...
"Our first stop is Heiwa Town Square. In the center of our town square is our lovely park, where we hold all our festivals and celebrations, it's also a great place for picnics and outdoor fun. West of the park is the town hall, my workplace, it also has a library which is open to the public, anytime you want to brush up on your farming skills, you're welcome to drop by. Oh, and across the northern part of our park is the police station and the fire station."
On their next stop on the town tour, Mayor Monica took them to the bank.
"Now, first you must know that Liam runs the bank. He's an okay guy, but he likes to work a lot. He LOVES his job."
Monica lead the two new farmers to the front entrance, to the front desk. A man with black greasy slick-backed hair, brown eyes wears a brown unbuttoned business suit and matching brown formal shoes was sitting there, twiddling his thumbs and whistling. The name tag on his chest said, "Owner".
"Excuse me!" Orchid said, trying to get his attention.
The man stopped whistling and twiddling. "Can I help you?"
"You two brought some money with you, didn't you?" asked Mayor Monica.
"Yeah, why?" asked Marcus.
"She wants to know if were are making a deposit." Orchid explained.
"Yes, are you?" Liam, smiling at the job to do.
"Why should we?" Marcus wanted to know.
"If we're going to be staying here, we need extra cash. I'LL put some in!" Orchid declared.
"Sure. I guess I'll give you some, too..."
"Sweet!" Liam shouted.
Marcus gave Liam $50 and Orchid gave him $100.
"We only expected to be on vacation." Marcus explained.
"AND we don't have your dollars, either. Just regular." Orchid explained further.
"MON-AY!" Liam yelled.
Everyone covered their ears.
"WHAT?!" Marcus asked.
All at once, Liam took out a jar filled with coins. He then began exchanging the paper money the new farmers had for the coins.
"We don't even use coins at ALL on this island, but it's fun to count and replace them! If you ever need your paper money the island uses, just ask and I'll switch them around, again."
"Bu-Bu-But-" but Marcus was cut off.
"Onto the next stop!" Mayor Monica said, leading the farmers out.
"At least we'll make more money, eh, Marcus?" Orchid comforted.
"That was weird." Marcus said.
"Don't be rude." Orchid corrected.
"If he was the owner, why was HE the one doing all the work?"
"Oh, there's other employees there, but Liam keep them doing work in the back. He's the one who does all the hard work... But that's just how he likes it." Mayor Monica explained.
The trio soon encounters a young man with a orange-red mohawk, blue eyes, white tanktop, tan khaki shorts and black and white sneakers. moving a refrigerated cart.
"Oh, hi, Todd. I want you to meet our new farmers. Marcus and Orchid." Monica introduced Todd to the farmers.
"What's up?" Todd greeted.
"Pleased to meet you, Todd." Orchid greeted.
"What's in the cart?" asked Marcus.
"My catch." Todd answered.
"Catch?" Orchid questioned.
"He's a fisherman. So, Todd, fishing business treating you good?" asked Mayor Monica.
"Sure thing, mayor brah! Plenty of carp." Todd answered. "So, dude and dudette... Ever fish before?"
"No." said Orchid.
"Sure, i enjoyed fishing when i was a kid." said Marcus.
"Cool." said Todd. "I would be happy with this gig, but i'm stressed at not getting enough fish for everyone, i guess this is what i get for selling them cheap. I wish i had a trawler to keep up with all these orders, but most of the shops and businesses in the city are out of business, and importing one is totally expensive. I do feel bad for the folks at the marketplace, they ain't getting much business, and any food we need, we have to get from the villages far outside of town, i do hope someone will work on the farms again soon."
"Cheer up, Todd. I'm sure things will pick up soon." Orchid gave the fisherman comfort. "Right?"
"We can only hope." said Mayor Monica. "People here aren't poor enough to be homeless, but they DO get hungry."
"Well anyway, it's great meeting you, but i'm going to see if the grocery store and kitchen needs to restock on fish." said Todd as he pushes his cart toward his destination. "See you later."
"Well, goodbye and always, good luck, Todd." Mayor Monica waved goodbye.
The mayor and the two farmers continued on with the tour of the town and their next stop being the Carpenter's Guild. Working there is a young man with a blonde army buzz cut, brown eyes, white shirt, green army pants and black work boots.
"Hiya, Markle! This is Orchid and Marcus. They're the new farmers." Mayor Monica introduced.
But Markle wasn't paying any attention. He was too busy cutting wood.
"Uh... Markle?" Mayor Monica asked.
He mumbled to himself until he got to 100. Then he jumped up into the air and did chin-ups on an old yew tree.
"MARKLE!" Mayor Monica yelled.
Markle stopped and jumped down.
"What? Oh, hi there." said Markle.
Markle also had rippling biceps and deltoids which caught the attention of Orchid.
"Wow. This guy is buffed." Orchid thought to herself. "Pleased to meet you, Markle, i'm Orchid and this is my friend, Marcus."
"Hey, there." said Marcus.
"How are you?" asked Markle with an outstretched hand.
He shook Orchid and Marcus' hands strongly.
"Why do you keep that old tree around here?" asked Marcus.
"It helps me exercise." Markle explained.
"Exercise? I hate exercise!" Marcus declared. "My mom always made me do some exercise, i get punished if i don't."
"I wasn't always a woodcutter. I got into a lot of trouble when I was young. I was even put into boot camp. But it changed me, and I'm a different person, now. You ever want advice on ANYTHING, feel free to ask. Or Father Juan. We both love to help."
Next on the Heiwa Town tour came the church.
"You're probably wondering who Father Juan is. Well, he's a priest and he runs the church." Mayor Monica explained.
Monica opened up one of the massive doors with help from Orchid. Then Marcus soon followed suit.
At the back of the church, a man was praying quietly.
He had on priestly robes and white hair and silver eyes, despite his age. Orchid was about to say, "Hello", but then stopped herself as soon as she realized he was praying.
Father Juan turned around. "Greetings, my children." he spoke.
"Hi, Father Juan! These are the new farmers I was telling everyone about. Orchid and Marcus!" Mayor Monica explained.
"Bless you." Father Juan said.
"No one sneezed." Marcus said back.
"You're kidding me." Orchid narrowed her eyes at Marcus.
"I'm kidding!" Marcus told her.
Father Juan laughed. "Good one!"
But Father Juan's demeanor quickly changed.
"It's good you came when you did. The Sea God-"
"Up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up!" Mayor Monica interrupted, before whispering into the priest's ear. "Not until they're both settled in."
"But how is that fair to them?" asked Juan.
"Time to go, now. Both of you!" Monica said as she pushed them outside.
The town tour continued on throughout the day, the farmers got a introduction from a clinic, the midwife next to it, and the marketplace. It was getting dark and the trio could see light up ahead.
"Sunset!" Marcus remarked.
"Uh, the sunset is the other way. There's something else up there..." Orchid pointed out.
"That's Lucas, the town fire dancer." Mayor Monica explained.
The trio follows the torch's light to a outdoor bar that's next to a diner, this outdoor bar had a stage for entertainers to use. Among the few patrons at the bar was a black, medium long haired policewoman in her uniform and blue shoes with amber eyes, a pink curly haired, blue eyed woman wearing a pink dress and matching pink dress shoes and a blonde haired ponytail, green eyed woman wearing a rainbow colored tie-dye t-shirt, blue short jeans and brown sneakers. The fire dancer was a short black haired and amber eyed man, wearing a brown tanktop, tan khaki shorts and white sneakers throwing two sticks with fire on both ends into the air. He passed them underneath his legs with one hand and caught them with another. He juggled them, spinning around and around above his head. Finally, he blew hard on both sticks until the fire spread wide in front of his face. It was obvious this had to be Lucas.
Mayor Monica held back the two farmers until the show was over, the bar patrons gave the performer their applause.
Monica and Orchid went over to speak with Lucas, but Marcus stayed behind. He found the glorious, most beautiful woman on the island. She had red hair, blue eyes, wore a waitress uniform and red high heels.
"Hey, I'm Frieda. Are you and your friend the new farmers?" she asked.
"Uh, uh, yeah." He let out an outstretched hand, but kept his eyes lost in her's."
Frieda giggled. "Oh, hear comes your friend, now. And Mayor Monica and Lucas, too!"
"Woo! What a workout! Mocktail, please! Pick the flavor you'd recommend." Lucas declared.
"I'll have a banana milk." said the mayor.
"I'll have an apple mocktail." said Orchid.
"Virgin pena colada, please!" said Marcus.
Frieda served the drinks and Mayor Monica gulped her's as fast as she could.
"We need to-" but The Mayor was cut off.
"You guys enjoy the show?" asked Lucas.
"Sure did!" Orchid admitted.
"I was with Frieda for most of it." Marcus blushed. No one seemed to notice.
Just then, three more women came up to the bar.
"Hiii, girls!" Mayor Monica addressed the ladies.
"This is Cupcake, Kibo, and Sunny. They're all best friends! Cupcake works at a bakery, Kibo's the chief of police, and Sunny works at an animal and seed business."
After the tour, nighttime arrived, mayor Monica led the two farmers to a large area of farmland outside Heiwa Town. One farm has a barn, a coop and a wide pasture for the animals while the other has a grain silo and a lot of empty field.
"Here we are." said Monica. "The farms used to be in despair, but i took the liberty of having them repaired before your arrival. So, what do you think?"
"It ain't much, but it is cozy." said Orchid.
"Its alright, i guess." said Marcus. "Then again, i'm used to shabby conditions like this."
"That's great." said Monica. "Well, i better get home, see you two in the morning."
"Thanks, good night." Marcus and Orchid said together.
"Well, we got a long day tomorrow, good night, Orchid." Marcus said to Orchid.
"Good night, Marcus." said Orchid.
The two farmers went to their separate farmhouses to turn in for the day, the road to recovery has just begun...
Author's Note: Reiz16 has helped me a lot on this story, but she has her limits and will to back out for time to time, perhaps for a long time. I respect your decision, my friend, just be safe and don't push yourself too far, okay? Anyway, be sure to give her thanks and credit for this wonderful fanfic... Oh, and her guardian angels as well.