It was already 5pm... I'd met with Dunhill for coffee and a discussion over 2 hours ago, and that time had been spent answering questions about Weiss, my parents, and my interest in the town. He was glad to see that I hadn't changed in the year since I'd come by, but hoped that the villagers would help me with any problems, meaning he thought I was depressed about mom and dad... With a begrudging smile I bade him a good evening and walked out into the town, pulling my green jacket closer around myself as a chilly wind blew through the area. No one was outside, and I wasn't going to go in random people's houses without permission just to say hi...
That left me to greet Weiss on his farm, where a year ago there had been a row of empty fields, a dilapidated barn, and an abandoned farmhouse. As I walked in below the wooden arch that read "Snow Farm," I noticed light spilling from structures that, like many of the buildings in town, hadn't been here when I'd left. "You've been busy, Weiss..." With a slight smile I allowed myself a moment of admiration for my cousin's hard work. Then, seeing as he wasn't out there, I snuck over to the barn to take a peek at his livestock.
Two cows watched me timidly as a sheep munched on fodder. "Hey ya little fluffballs." Chuckling, I rubbed the sheep on the head, taking a couple treats from the pack I'd brought along. "Eat up, buddy-" Something soft was touching my shoulder and the back of my neck... I leaned aside cautiously and glanced to my left to see an alpaca laying its head on me. "Aw, c'mere you!" I gave the wooly alpaca a rub and a treat, letting her follow me around as I gave each animal a snack. In the logbook, the alpaca's name was recorded as Bean. A sheep was Jelly. In fact, they all had names involving candy... The cows were Taffy and Jujube.
With one last hug I patted Bean, promising I'd come back the next day, and headed to the coop to hang out with the chickens.
What? Can't a girl get along with animals? They're so much more... honest than people. You can tell that they've been cared for and loved, and they love in return, whereas humans take advantage of one another for their own desires and pride. I make a point every week to spend a few hours mindlessly scrolling through animal pictures online in my spare time. So far it's helped me write better friendships than humans ever did for my stories.
"Rose Red, why am I not surprised?" I looked up from the chicken I'd been petting furiously during my reflection, hopping up and crossing my arms with a cough. With a laugh at my embarrassment, Weiss added, "I see you've been checking out my animals. What do you think?"
Weiss' white hair had been trimmed to a neat cut a little shorter than mine, but his brown eyes still held the spark of immaturity that had led to his banishment from many a local pub a few years ago. "They're very well cared for," I observed, noting my cousin's weather appropriate but dirt-smudged clothing. "Though you could use a little more care... Isn't one of your girlfriends a tailor?"
"Th- they're not my girlfriends!" Weiss' face was turning pink, and I couldn't help but poke fun at his dilemma. "Neither one ever will be if you stay cooped up on your farm all day, pun intended, Snowy~" Shaking his head, Weiss gave me a half-smile, replying, "This coming from you? Your idea of a social life is letting a forum of strangers judge your writing. I'd hoped that since you'd opted to stay in Orchard Town before, you'd settle down with someone, but I guess that was too much to hope for? Love goes beyond immediate family and animals, you know." His face was reddening again, and it looked like he was thinking about those girls.
"Tch, who needs love? I've got the internet." Always the buzzkill, I stuck my tongue out at my lovestruck cousin, adding, "And my writing... But mostly the internet." Weiss gave a long sigh before shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't want to do this, but I guess it's the only way to make you understand."
"Understand what?" What was he talking about? It was making me uncomfortable, because his face was far too serious for the Weiss I knew... He crossed his arms and started the craziest explanation I'd heard in a long time.
"There are four men living in this city right now that are around our age, all single as far as I know. With any luck, another two will be able to move here within a week or two. On the twenty-fifth there will be a Starry Night Festival, an occasion for couples to go see the stars together... I myself intend to take either Yuri or Felicity on a date..." Again with the embarrassed blushing! He was going to have a hard time asking one of 'em when he did finally pick.
"I'm going to issue you a challenge, Red. If you can become friends with these guys by then and go to the festival with one of them, I'll get the villagers to help me build another barn for you to keep your own animals in, and I'll give you the extra land to the East of this acre to do with as you will... You can keep or plant anything you like, and it will be your own. If you decide to stay here in Echo Town, I'll even help you build a house there... What do you say?"
My heart skipped a beat... After mom and dad had sold the orchard, I'd had no land of my own, not even a yard outside the small house I'd been working in on the last bit of our property. Weiss must have known exactly what I would do with the land he'd offered, because after about ten seconds of my shocked silence, he added, "I've cleared it of trees and had the area tilled." I took the small drawstring bag on my necklace in my hand. The red velvet bag was my most prized possession. In it I'd saved the seeds from the last apple off my parents' apple tree, which had grown twisted and barren since their burial. About 10 seeds, dark teardrops of hope, had been salvaged and hidden for this past year in my satchel. Only Weiss knew why they were so precious to me, and out of respect for my dream of reviving the orchard, he'd never given me a hint of doubt about the possibility.
"All I have to do is go to that festival with someone who lives in town?" I didn't know these guys, but they couldn't be so bad if Weiss wanted me to try going out with one of them... Swallowing hard, I ignored the tears that stung my eyes as I thought of my parents' love for the trees I could now bring back, quipping, "You're on, Snowy. But one condition; I will NOT go with that bossy hairstylist."
