Chapter One: A Fresh Beginning and Fresh Milk
Day 1:
I surveyed the land, swallowing hard as the cool New Year's spring breeze combed my hair. The farm didn't look like much; in fact, it didn't look like it was even a farm. The grass was overgrown with weeds; the barn and house appeared to be made of rotting wood. Even the paint on what was once a picket fence had worn away over time.
"It is sad, really. Once your grandfather passed away, the farm seemed to lose its spirit as well." Mr. Hayes wearily sighed behind me. Without bothering to turn, I sighed as well.
"Thank you, Mayor Hayes. May I ask you to repeat what he left me in the Will?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair. A nervous habit of mine. Who wouldn't be nervous, though? This farm was disaster. The grass was still brown from winter, the house looked like it would collapse on itself if given but a light knock on the door, and there was only a single stray dog to take care of. The very farm that had once had fifty cattle stalls now lay barren, rotting into the earth. This would take the all of the money left to me to fix, if not more.
"Fifty acres of land, including all of the buildings standing on it, his journal, and his entire fortune. His bank account contains ten thousand dollars. Your grandfather….he wasn't right in the head near the end. He hid his entire fortune away in his last few weeks. I'm not quite sure of the details, so if I were you, I would ask about it in town when you meet everyone." The mayor remarked, sighing wearily before continuing.
"No one is going to believe this. A sad sob story, that's what this is. Your great-grandfather was the very reason why this town didn't starve during the great depression, you know. Ol' John, your grandfather of course, prevented this land from being paved over by an amusement park. They were legends, your family was. Even your father, bless his soul, was respected for becoming a lawyer. No one would dare imagine this place becoming so run down." Mayor Hayes said, glancing around the ancient farm.
"After your father came along, everyone thought he'd continue the Wood legacy. Come back and defend the town in a legal matter of some sort. Everyone just assumed that the legend would continue. It never really sunk in that the family wasn't coming back. It just faded away, along with the memories. Rumors spread, of course. I meant to tell you to be wary of that. Half of what you'll hear won't be true. There have been ghost stories, tales that the Wood family line once belonged to nobility. Why, I've even heard that you can find Jack's guardian angel's feather laying on his grave every April." The mayor continued, his shoulders square as he babbled on. I rather disliked him. It wasn't that he wasn't a nice man and all; it was just it was hard to like somebody when you couldn't get them to shut up.
"Sir, you were saying something about how the Oak Ranch was willing to donate a cow?" I asked, my voice whispery as I gazed upon what was once my grandfather's land. It wasn't much to look at, but it suited me fine, once the finances were taken care of. I was eager to change the subject, because to tell the truth, I wasn't much interested in the tales of heroic relatives. I wasn't here to prove my worth to some old gossiping villagers, I was here to settle down and make some money.
The mayor blinked, then turned to me, as if waking from a dazed dream.
"Right. Excuse me. Yes, Oak Ranch is a rather wealthy, and the owners thought it'd be nice to give you a little welcome home present. They went ahead and put the cow in the barn, and they said you could name her whatever you'd like, and drop by later if you needed help. I doubt they'll recognize you when they see you; none of us had seen you since you were a wee little girl." He said, laughing. I ignored him, and just nodded, keeping my face blank. I had seen this before. Mayor Hayes was probably up for election soon, meaning he would need all the votes he could get. If he thought I came from a persuasive family, and that my 'noble' background could convince others to see my point of view, winning my vote could mean winning the entire town's vote.
"Thank you, sir. It was very nice meeting you. You mentioned the post office works differently around here?" I asked, looking at him. I didn't know what the Johnston family really intended by giving me a free cow, but it couldn't hurt to send a thank you letter.
"Yes. The postman, Mr. Harris, delivers all the mail. If you intend to send a letter, just talk to him. You could also give it to my daughter, Mary, in the library and she'll take care of it for you." The Mayor smiled, a twinkle in his eye.
"Of course, Mr. Harris is about your age, as well." At that statement, I stopped viewing my new home and looked at him, eyebrow raised. The idiot actually thought that I would flirt with the mailman. My first impression of him was correct.
"I assure you, sir, I have no intention of romance in any manner whatsoever. I just plan on living here, is all." I turned my face back toward the landscape. I had spoken the truth, I didn't have any romantic interests here, but I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't blush at the thought.
"Oh, come now. You'll learn soon enough that a little old town such as this doesn't bother with such proper greetings, Ms. Wood. Please, may I call you Rachel?" I looked back at the man, whom seemed to be quite intent on focusing all of his attention on me for the next century.
The mayor was a rather focused man, continually crossing the borders between a mayor and a southern hillbilly. From what I had seen of him, he had been very professional. Occasionally, though, when he was less tense, he would slip into a thick, burly southern accent. He seemed rather neat, but a bit compulsive about his appearance. He also appeared to be in his late forties; the little gray hair that was left on his head was neatly combed. His business suit, despite the dusty ground, was spotless. Forcing a smile onto my face, I nodded, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ears.
"Ms. Wood would be fine. Thank you for all your help, Mayor, but I'm pretty sure that I can find my way around. Although, I'm not sure who the carpenter is around here. I'll need the barn and the field fence fixed as soon as possible." My mind stirred, and my concentration wandered far from the words that automatically spouted out of my mouth.
The expanse before me wove under and over, the hills touching the very ends of the earth. The earth, the dirt, the flesh of the land was both rich and dreadfully poor, chopped into striped sections. The house's view was a wonderful one, as it laid observing nature's changes upon the tallest hill of them all. As Mayor Hayes and I stood to the right side of the rotting log cabin, we could easily see the stripes of earth below us, mixtures of dried dirt, clay, and rich black soil. It wasn't the soil that captivated me, though. It was when I spotted Willow's Creek did I know that it was a good decision to move here.
The official entrance to the farm was not at the house, but at Willow's Creek. I didn't know at the time that the lake was once a creek, nor did I know it had once been core of the town's water sources. But I did know that, as I stood staring at the rippling beauty, that this creek was God's gift. If you haven't traveled to the country, you'll never fully comprehend what I'm attempting to tell you. But the fact is, as I stood there memorized by the ripples sweeping across the lake, I finally felt what I had been missing all my life. A home.
"It really is sad, Ms. Wood, that this land has been rotting all these years. Be honest, your father never intends to come back, does he?" Looking directly him in the eye, I gave him an honest answer.
"My father is a lawyer," I smirked, ignoring painful memories as they flashed into my head, "Lawyers tend to create empty promises." The mayor chuckled nervously, his fingers fidgeting. I could see it clearly; he didn't believe a twenty-year-old girl could actually run a farm. My smirk fading, I nodded my head.
"Thank you. You said there was a grocery store nearby?" I looked back over at the land, studying every square inch of it. It would take time to get the farm up and running again, most likely time I didn't have. I had twenty thousand dollars to use because the foolish old man decided to play treasure ranch. Twenty thousand dollars could be enough, if I played my cards right. Too bad I was never good at poker.
"Yes, the bakery sells grocery goods as well as bread. If you want to know any details, speak to the the owner, Jeff, or Ellie. Here, I'll give you the list of when which stores are open. It's rather handy, see, cause it includes their addresses as well." He smiled, and giving him my thanks I took the shop schedules. Studying it closely, I noticed that there were very few stores. A library/bookstore, bakery and goods, tools and technology, a bar, a school and church, and a few other meager shops.
"Sir, do you know of any part-time jobs that are available?" I asked, not bothering to look up from the card. Everything was so precise, and every shop and its address were perfectly in sync. The mayor was neat. Most high-class men were. If they weren't organized, they didn't get the job. If they didn't have the charisma, they couldn't impress the people. Charisma was the one thing I was lacking, and the one thing I resented. Maybe that's why I resented the mayor. Either that, or the fact that he wouldn't shut up was getting under my skin. I'm pretty sure it was the latter.
"You'll have to ask around, live a little. After all, Willow Village is all about meeting people." Yep, definitely the latter.
"Thank you. You mentioned the Johnson family?" I asked, dancing around his suggestion. The suck-up was poorly attempting to get me to make friends. Go figure. He was in for a dead end if he wanted to suck popularity out of me.
"Oh yes, Jeff and Elli,but they're not related. Jeff was Elli's family's friend before her mother and father passed away. Anyways, they still sell some mighty fine cakes, and they also serve some pretty spiffy coffee." He chuckled, a silent plea shimmering in his eyes. I ignore him, simply because I already hate the man. Why? He's annoying, and he used the word spiffy, need I say more?
"I'm afraid I don't drink coffee, sir, but what about the Oak Ranch?" I inquired, inserting the proper, 'don't dare mess with me again' tone. That small touch was all that was needed. Fidgeting with his hands rapidly, he nodded rather hastily.
"Of course, they always willing to have a part-time worker. If you speak with them tomorrow, I'm sure something can be arranged." For once, the man seemed completely honest with what he was saying. Of course, he was still encouraging me to talk with the other villagers.
"Thank you, and, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone my current financial status. Rumors spread faster than a jack rabbit in small towns such as this." I remarked, encouraging him to leave. Instead, he winced at the word 'small', and stood there, not leaving…against my wishes. This guy had a remarkable talent of making friends. Once again, deserving to be berated into oblivion, he spoke.
"May I ask, is it true you declined a full scholarship to law school?" This guy didn't know when to zip his lip.
"Well, I don't reckon that something so personal like that would matter to you, Mayor. Thank you for the introduction, but I have a good bit of work to do with this farm. Excuse me." My eyes darted from across the land as I walked away from Mr. Hayes. I came here to abscond from the noise, not to walk to it with open arms. This idiot didn't seem to comprehend that concept.
With that, I walked away from the baffled mayor. It was a simple act, but one I wouldn't forget. Years and years later, I would find myself doing the exact same thing at the exact same place at a completely different time. Of course, that's beside the point. As I walked away, I heard the man call out,
"Well, be sure to come to the Spring Festival tomorrow! You can meet everyone there. It would be simply a delightful way to introduce you to this town's members and background." I simply nodded and kept walking; I ignored the fact he wouldn't be able to see me nod. As much as I tried to hate this crappy town, it wouldn't hurt to know who my neighbors were.
After exploring and cleaning the shack I called a home for the next few hours, I stood in the rotting barn, grimacing at the poor shape the antique building was in. I didn't have to be an experienced farmer to know a health hazard when I saw one. Then, the most frightening event in my entire lifetime occurred. I met Bessie.
"What the…" Before I could finish the sentence, my nose decided it would make friends with the ground. The wind knocked out of me, I turned my head, desperate to find what bumped into me. It was the most evil creature I could ever see. What, don't agree with me? The thing had horns, and those horns had just rammed into my gluteus maximus.
Fumbling as I got back to my feet, I realized the colossal spotted monstrosity had bumped into me not for evil intentions, but for attention. Scowling, I placed my hands on my hips.
"Next time you're hungry, don't knock your feeder unconscious. Geez, your brain must be the size of a peanut. Take that back, your brain is smaller than a Stegosaurus's, and consists of mush…" I stopped, realizing I was babbling insults to a female bovine who didn't care what I thought of her as long as she got fed. Staring at the hungry cow, I sighed before finding and filling her trough with hay. Immediately, Bessie waddled as fast as her fat legs would carry her to her food bin, drooling as she gobbled her gourmet. I groaned, realizing that I would need to milk her.
Not that I'm complaining, after all, Bessie was going to be my main source of money for the next few days. Still, when you absorb the fact that I was a city-girl who had never touched an udder in her life, it makes perfect sense that I would be reluctant to squeeze a cow's udders. It also makes perfect sense that I really, really wanted latex gloves at the moment. I rolled my eyes, mumbling under my breath about how these country hicks probably had never touched a latex glove in their life. Either way, a woman who was willing backtalk a mayor shouldn't be afraid of a stupid cow.
Grabbing a metal bucket, I took my place underneath the devil's bovine. Bessie ignored my existence, (which was quite alright with me) and I hesitantly reached for the cow's udder Taking a hesistant breath before I began, I closed my eyes and began to squeeze.
Now, no one told me when I signed up for this trip that I would have to invent a strategic tactic for milking cows. After all, in the movies, all they do is reach and squeeze. Well I reached, I squeezed, and almost next to nothing came out. It was moments like this when I felt like a blond dim-witted city-girl.
After several minutes of restraining my primitive instincts to pull out a club and beat the milk out of the dumb beast, I finally managed to get a bunch of milk from one squeeze. I smiled. I was a sophisticated woman, I, human, had mastered the ability of removing milk from a cow. I tried again, and to my disbelief, nothing came out. I closed my eyes, groaning aloud. This was going to take some getting used to.
Author's Note: This chapter has been UPDATED. Originally, the whole theme was a mixture of all the Harvest Moon games and my own personal fantasies, but I changed the theme to HM64, which caused some of the townspeople to change. I have, however, kept a few of my own add ins. For instance, the mayor is still Theodore "Hayes" named after a friend simply because my friend hates the fact that I did so. Also, Flower Bud Village has been renamed Willow Village for story plot reasons, and Ann's home Oak Ranch simply because I never figured out its official name.