Hey guys, this is MarzaPanda for my first story ever! This story is based on A Wonderful Life, centering around an OC. Later Celia get's way more of a part, so she's one of the "main characters." The only reason this story is rated T is for of the Blue Bar and minimal alchohol use. I know the beginning is a bit slow, but 'ya gotta introduce the characters at some point! I've been working on this story for a while, and decided to start uploading it so I can become a beta reader.
Please review; I don't mind flames.
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Stepping out onto the beach, I took a deep breath of mountain air. I had finally arrived in Forget-Me-Not Valley.
"Come on, we've got a lot to do before the day ends." I turned to face Takakura. The man must have been 50, but still he managed the buying and selling of everything for the whole village. A friend of my recently departed father's, old Tak had come to find me in the Big Apple. Just a tad out of place in his old stained shirt that must have been white at some point in his life, dusty old brown pants, and on his boots the crusted remains of what I sorely hoped was just dirt.
He had told me of my father's death, asked me to come back to dear old dad's farm, and now here we were. Coming back to the present, I looked for Tak and spotted him a good 20 feet ahead, and setting a brisk pace. Jogging to catch up, I found myself out of breath almost immediately. I guess I didn't get out much, except for trudging around my college campus, wondering if I felt up to going to class. But that wouldn't be a problem. Farming was all done by machinery these days.
Looking around, however, I wasn't so sure. It seemed as though the technological wave had swept right by this secluded, tucked in little valley. A few simple brick houses lined the streets, and— was that a well? As simple as these village folk may be, there was no way that they could possibly get their water from a well!
Suddenly, Tak disappeared from in front of me. I stopped dead, feverishly looking around.
"Up here." I raised my head, and saw Tak standing on something behind the fence. Peering behind the wood, I came face to face with a plateau-like incline, leveling out several feet above my head, where the fence stopped. Okay, now I knew where he was, but how had he gotten up there, and how would I? I wasn't about to climb some fence!
"Take a few steps forward and a look to your left." I sighed, walked forward, and was just about to ask what the joke was when I noticed the incredibly steep path that managed to cover the sudden height change of eight feet in just a yard or two. A bicycle would roll backwards on that slope. Looking at Tak with renewed respect for having gotten up that, I took a deep breath and ran at the mini-hill. Hurrying to scramble up it so I wouldn't slide back on my feet, I came to rest, huffing a bit, at the top.
Still leaning over, with hands on my knees, I surveyed the area. A farm, but not as I had expected. There was no John Deere equipment in the field, no large, expensive milking station. Just more small brick buildings, and— oh man, not another well! There were three plots of land, and, I was no farmer, but they looked tiny by any standards. On the two smaller fields, I figured I could get around thirty crops, and many more on the larger one, but still. I'm pretty sure selling thirty tomatoes wouldn't pay even half of whatever the monthly mortgage was for this farm.
The centerpiece for this magnificent establishment was an old wooden barn with a field of dead looking grass behind it. Tak began walking towards the pasture, and I followed. For an old man, he really did get around pretty fast!
"This is where your father kept his animals. We had to sell them after… you know…" Getting a far away look in his eye, Tak murmured, "I guess this whole place is yours now," seeming to talk more to himself than me. Turning, he smiled. "Give it a name son."
What! A little notice would have been nice! It took me ten minutes to pick a name for myself in video games. Yeah, come back in a month and I might have a name for this place!
"Uhh..." I faltered, not sure what to say. But Takakura seemed to sense my dilemma.
"It's all a bit much to take in, inheriting a farm and all. Why don't you tell me at the end of the day what you've decided?"
"Thanks," I sighed, relieved.
Tak gestured about. "Let's get going. First I'll show you around the farm, and then we can go meet the people in town.
"Okay," Tak murmured to himself, reviewing what I supposed was a well rehearsed speech on the basics of farm life, "now for the pasture." Taking a deep breath to ready himself, Tak pointed to the large square of fenced in grass in front of us. "When the grass grows long enough, you can cut it and store it in your barn as fodder, for the animals. When they're outside, though, they can feed themselves well enough on uncut grass."
He led me around to a small wooden house near the entrance to the farm. "This is my house. I think we'll keep about the same schedules, so stop in any time if you have questions."
Next door was a tall stone building. Stepping inside, I nearly tripped over a small cooler and book. "That," Tak explained, pointing to the book, "is the ledger. Now, I go into town almost every day to sell the dairy products that you leave in the cooler." He paused and pointed to the aged blue cooler. "Drop stuff that you want to sell in here, and there's a cooler for crops in the back. Going back to the ledger, it has the prices of the equipment and livestock you can buy. Leave a note and the money, and I'll bring your purchases back in a few days.
I wasn't sure what livestock was— fertilizer, maybe? — but I sure knew what equipment was. But what else could I need, seeing as Tak had said he'd let me use his tools? I didn't want to look like an idiot, but I simply couldn't think what else there possibly could be to running a farm, and what if I didn't have something really important and all the crops and animals died and my fathers farm fell into ruins?!
Confessing my ignorance, I asked, "What other things would I need to run the farm?"
Probably beating himself over the head for leaving an entire farm in my amazingly unintelligent hands, Tak told me that the tools he had left to me were old and very heavy, and just carrying them around would make me tired, not counting the work that I would have to do with them, and it would be in my best interests to save up for some new, lighter tools.
"It's also where you can order animals, like cows, sheep, and chickens once you have the money."
Well now it made sense! "Okay, I understand. But why didn't you mention animals before?"
With a pitying look, Tak hinted, "Livestock..."
Aah... Stock that is live, hence the term, livestock.
Trying to forget what had just happened, I followed Tak over to the chicken coop. Not much, just a place for food, water, chickens, and an incubator.
Back outside, Tak showed me the well where I would fill my watering can. Pointing to a large patch of black dirt, he explained, "That's where I would recommend growing crops, as it has the most fertile soil. There are two other fields, perhaps closer to your house, but plants wills will take longer to grow. Hmm… Maybe a good spot for trees…"
As Tak drifted into his own thoughts, I could finally feel the end of the farm tour coming on. Pulling back to the present, the old man led me again to the decrepit barn. "This is where your animals will spend nights. I'd recommend putting them out in good weather. Being cooped up inside is stressful, but not as much as being stuck out in the rain."
"Yu-huh. So, the barn..?" Bored with Tak constantly talking to himself, I stepped towards the door; hoping to speed the process up a bit.
"Wait! First let me show you the tool shed, it's only right next door." Tak gently herded me to a tiny lean-to situated against the barn. Well, anything to get a move on I guess. Sighing, I trudged into the old shack—Takakura following close behind.
Immediately, the odor of stale air and something that smelled like decaying leaves coated in cow… "Leavings." Gagging, I stumbled forward and stepped on the culprit. Moldy hay lying in a puddle of who-wants-to-know. Noticing my discomfort, Tak quickly pointed to the shelf holding a row of assorted tools and led me through a side door into the barn.
Standing there was the most mischievous looking cow I had ever seen. Interest danced in her golden eyes as she met my gaze; reminding me of myself as a little boy, dreaming up ways to prank my elderly grandpa.
"Give her a name, son. She's yours." Tak encouraged.
Had he not learned of my inability to name anything whatsoever back at the pasture? Searching for a suitable name, I looked into the animal's eyes. Her deep, golden eyes. Rather like…
"Amber," I declared. "Her name is Amber."
"Amber it is!" Tak announced, pleased at my timely decision. "Now let's head into town."
We walked out of the barn and headed down the path connecting barns and pastures to the rest of Forget-Me-Not Valley's population. I had just started to follow Takakura, when there was a ferocious growl from behind me. Yelping, I whirled around.