Chapter Two
**Spring, Year 1**
I woke up and sat straight in my bed. It took me a moment or two to remember where I was. I rubbed my brown eyes and brushed a few strands of my brown hair out of my face.
"Oh right, the farm," I reminded myself quietly. I heard a scratching noise at the door, and looked. My new dog Koro was scratching against the wood, waiting to go outside.
Deciding to take that as a sign, I stood and began to dress myself in my usual blue denim overalls, white t-shirt, and black boots. I walked to my trunk, still needing to be unpacked, and fished out a pair of white working gloves. While rummaging through the deep trunk, I found a red bandana, and an old hat.
I tied the bandana around my neck and smiled in self-satisfaction to Koro, then put the green hat with yellow bill backwards on top of my head. My brown bangs stuck out from the small opening. I walked over to a mirror and inspected myself, smiling.
Before walking outside, I decided to supply myself with the mallet, scythe and axe from the toolbox. I held onto the handle of the door, took a deep breath to prepare myself for the mess that was to come, and opened it, allowing Koro to run outside while the warm sun greeted me. I grabbed my backpack, waiting for me by the front door, and walked outside.
The smell of a farm first thing in the morning was always something that could calm my nerves. With confidence, I walked to the plot of land for farming and began to remove the rocks, boulders, tree stumps and weeds.
After a few hours of working, I kneeled down by the small pond next to the chicken coop and scooped the cool water in my callused hands, then splashed it on my face and neck.
Standing, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and began to walk toward the exit of my farm. I decided on a spur-of-the-moment whim to walk around the village.
The area outside of the farm was a large area. Directly to the left was the Green Ranch and the beach. Straight in front were two entrances to the village, and directly adjacent to the right of that was a small hill, leading up to the vineyard. And finally, next to the right of my farm was a path that lead to the forest and mountain.
I began my journey by taking the path leading into the village. I walked for a few moments before reaching the entrance to Flower Bud Village. It was a quaint, small town. I walked down the brick-laid path.
The Flower Shop was the first store on my path. I opened the door and closed it behind me, and smiled to the owner, who stood behind the counter.
She was a woman who appeared to be in her middle thirties in age, and she had light pink hair and vivid pink eyes. She smiled warmly to me.
"Hello there! Welcome to Lilia's Flower Shop. I'm Lilia, the owner. You must be Jack, the new resident to Flower Bud Village. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said as she walked toward me. She shook my hand, still smiling.
"Yes, I am Jack. Thank you very much," was all I could think to say.
"Well, we have flower seeds, but we also have seeds for vegetables. The crops that grow best in Spring are cabbages, turnips and potatoes. Cabbages take the longest, but you can sell them for more money, whereas turnips take the shortest amount of time to grow, but will sell for less," Lilia explained as she walked me around the store.
"Great! Thank you very much for the advice. I'm still pretty new to the whole farming idea," I admitted with a blush.
"Yes, I could see it in your eyes. It's okay; we all had to start from square one at least once in our lives," Lilia said with another warm smile. She turned her head, as did I, when we heard a sound coming from the front door. It was the bell ringing, to announce somebody had walked in.
"Mama, I'm done watering the flowers outside," a heavenly voice rang to the small store. "Mama? Where are you?"
"I'm here, Popuri, darling," Lilia answered. She grabbed my arm gently and walked me to the front of the store. "Popuri, this here is Jack, the new farmer for Flower Bud. Jack, this is my daughter, Popuri."
I was speechless. Popuri looked almost exactly like Lilia—she had the same pink hair and striking pink eyes. Holding her bangs back was a green headband, and she wore a brown vest over an old-fashioned-looking white shirt. A long red skirt covered her legs and feet. In her hands was a green watering can, with a white daisy painted on the front.
"Oh, hello! It's a pleasure to meet you, Jack," Popuri said as she shook my hand. "I'm assuming Mama has told you about flowers and vegetables?"
"Y-Yes…Well, we were just discussing that," I stammered. Popuri giggled sweetly and walked behind the counter where Lilia was standing. After a moment, she returned to me, holding a green book in her hands.
"This book should help you. It has all sorts of information about flowers and vegetables, and how to properly grow and care for them." Popuri placed the book in my hands, which I immediately stuck in the backpack. She smiled warmly to me again, causing me to blush.
"Popuri, dear, why don't you show Jack the rest of the village?" Lilia suggested. I saw Popuri smile and nod in agreement, causing my heart to skip a beat.
"I'd love to, Mama. Come on, Jack, there's still a lot to see." Popuri took my hand and walked us to the front door.
"Oh, Jack, before I forget to tell you, I'll ship some of our crops to your farm, to get you started. I hope things go very well for you!" Lilia said with a warm smile.
"Thank you very much, ma'am!" I said as Popuri closed the door behind us.
Even in the spring sunshine, Popuri looked as beautiful as a flower. I couldn't take my eyes off her.
"Well, if you continue walking up this road, there's the Church next to our flower shop," Popuri explained as we began to walk. There was a Pastor standing outside of the church, reading from his bible.
"Good afternoon, Pastor Brown!" Popuri said with a cheerful voice. The pastor gazed up from the book and returned her smile with one of his own.
"Good afternoon there, Popuri. Who is this with you?" He asked as he walked toward us.
"Oh, goodness, I'm so sorry, I'm being rude. Pastor Brown, this is Jack. He's the new resident and farmer for the village. Jack, this is Pastor Brown. He voices the sermons every Sunday morning, and doubles as the teacher for the children of the village."
"Hello, Pastor. It is very nice to meet you," I said with the most politeness my voice could contain. I had never been calm around Pastors, and this was no exception.
Pastor Brown was wearing a black shirt and black pants, and a matching black hat. His hair was black, and it appeared he was balding as well. He wore glasses similar to the Mayor's.
"I was just showing Jack around town," Popuri explained with a smile.
"Well, don't let me stop you any longer. It was very nice to meet you, Jack, and I hope to see you in church on Sunday," the Pastor said before returning to his bible. I nodded and waved goodbye to him, then let out a silent sigh of relief as we walked away.
"And if you continue to go straight, you'll come to the local bar. It's open from 6 pm to 12 am every day, except Sunday. Most of the village men drink after a hard day's work, and Karen also works there some nights." We soon pulled away, turning left.
"Up these two flights of steps is the Village Square. We hold festivals up there, such as the Sowing Festival. We also have a race track behind the Square, where we have the Horse and the Dog races every spring and fall."
We continued along the short road, and turned left again.
"Here we have Rick's Tool Shop and Craft Store. He makes all sorts of neat things, like brushes for cows and horses, and he's also the cousin of Ann and her brother, Gray. And next to his shop is where Saibara runs his shop. He owns the souvenir shop."
As we continued walking, I could tell Popuri loved to tell people's stories.
"The last shop on this side of the village is the Bakery. My good friend Elli runs it, with her friend Jeff. And you may see Elli's grandmother sitting outside on nice days." Popuri took my hand again and walked to the side of the store, where there was a nice patch of green grass. There was an elderly lady rocking back and forth in an old-fashioned chair.
"Good afternoon, Grandma," Popuri said with a soft voice as we walked to the woman. "This here is the new resident, Jack. He's running the farm his grandpa used to own. Do you remember him?"
"Oh, yes I do. Your grandpa was a lovely man, Jack, and I can see him in your eyes." The older woman held out her hand, which I shook gently with a caring smile.
"Popuri! I was wondering when you were coming over," a warm voice said. Popuri and I turned our heads to the bakery, where we saw a girl coming outside.
"Oh, hello Elli. I was just showing Jack, the new resident, around the village," Popuri smiled to me. "Jack, this is Elli."
"Hello Elli. It's very nice to meet you," I said with a smile. I reached my hand out, which she shook with her own warm smile.
Elli was a simple girl. She had short brown hair, and wore a white apron over a light blue shirt and dark blue skirt. Around her neck was a black bowtie, with a red jewel placed in the middle. Her brown eyes appeared as warm as her voice.
"Hello, Jack. I work at the bakery with my Grandma and our good friend, Jeff. I hope you come to see me whenever you need something sweet to eat," she said with a giggle. I nodded with my own smile and returned my attention back to Popuri.
"We should be going now. I still have much to show him," Popuri said as we turned back to the older woman. "Grandma, it was nice to see you again. Take care of yourself."
"You too, child," was all she said with a warm smile.
We left the bakery, and took a small path to the other half of the village, hidden behind rows of trees. We then crossed a small bridge over a brook of water.
"Here we have the Potions master. He makes the potions and cures the sick of the village. He also cares for the two youngest boys of the village, Kent and Stu."
We continued down the dirt path.
"Next to the Potions shop is where the Midwife lives. She helps deliver babies in the village. And across from her home is the animal cemetery, where animals that have died from sickness or old age are buried."
I looked straight forward and found a large building. "What's that?"
"Oh, that's the Flower Bud Village Library. Maria, the daughter of the Mayor, runs the library. It's usually closed at the beginning of every month, like it is now, so Maria could be anywhere. And next to the library is the home of the Mayor and his wife. Maria also lives there."
We crossed another small bridge beside the library and returned to the main part of the village, across from Rick's shop, and made our way to the exit of the village.
"Up this little hill next to the village is the Vineyard, where Karen and her mother and father make the wine they sell at the bar. The vineyard has been in bad shape ever since Karen's grandmother died. Nobody really sees Karen's mother, Sasha, too often, and her father, Gotz, can be seen at the bar almost every night," Popuri finished her story with a hushed tone, as if somebody could hear us.
"I see," was all I could think to say. She soon had her familiar smile back.
"And next to the vineyard is the forest and mountain. There's not much new out there, besides a restaurant on the top of the mountain. That's also my favorite place to go see the fireworks that happen every summer."
I looked back to Popuri and smiled. She returned my smile with one of her own, finally releasing my hand. That's when I noticed the crickets chirping.
"Oh, it's gotten dark very quickly! Well, Jack, I should return home. It was nice meeting you, and if you ever have any questions, please feel free to look through the book, or come into the shop. We're closed on Sundays," she said with a hurried tone. "Goodbye!"
I stood at the entrance to the village and waved goodbye, then returned home to my farm. I walked inside with Koro quickly at my heels, and watched as he laid on his rug. I took off my hat and bandana, and kicked of my boots, then took the book Popuri had given me and laid it on the night stand, on top of the photo album and journal. I turned off the lights and laid my head on the pillow, quickly falling asleep.