CHAPTER ONE

I yawned and turned to my side. I turned on to my stomach. I turned to my back and wondered where the heck I was. I opened my eyes, and remembered.

I let out a groan when I heard a loud knock at the door. I secretly hoped it wasn't the mayor again. I had met him yesterday when I arrived in Mineral Town. He was the one who explained to (and laughed at) me that the ad was a fake. That's the last thing you'd want to find out when you quit your job and ditched the city life for a run down farm in a deserted village.

I opened the door with a tired look on my face, even though I wasn't tired at all. The short, chubby man looked almost surprised to see me, and it looked like the tired face was working.

"Oh, um, hello, I'm sorry to have bothered you this early in the morning, but I need to clear some things up before I have to do my other mayor duties for this town," he started out unsure, but became confident as he proudly announced that he had better things to do.

I slipped out the door and faced him, so I could just get this over with. He started explaining which tools were used for what, and which animal lived in which building. Looked easy enough. I zoned out until I realized he had asked a question.

"Excuse me?" I said politely.

Mayor Thomas fidgeted with his tall red top hat. "Um, well, we need to register the farm, so if you could come up with a name, that would be delightful," he said cheerfully but awkwardly.

I thought for a minute. I'd gone blank. Jeez, this was harder than she expected. I looked around the land. It was beautiful, really. For a split second, I actually felt joyful and happy. No one could reach me here. No one could call my cell phone nine times in a row, each time putting in another order of coffee for my co-workers.

My eyes jumped from the barn to the rocky field, to the honeybee nest, to the river. "Riverside Farm," I announced.

Mayor Thomas nodded. "Very well, then. Now, we need to know your name and season and day of birth for files that will be stored at the Mineral Town Clinic," he ordered more information.

"Claire. And Spring 23rd."

"Okay, then I shall be leaving," he said, turning to go. He took a couple steps toward the gates of the land, into town, but seemed to have forgotten something. "Oh, yes yes, what would you like to name your dog?" he questioned.

"Dog?" I was confused.

"Well, puppy, actually," Thomas corrected himself. He whistled and sure enough, a small brown puppy with a red bandana stumbled up to his particularly large feet. It let out a small bark and ran to my feet, bumping into and jumping around them. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

"Aw, he's adorable!" I exclaimed. I sighed and stated that the pup's name would be Bailey.

"Excellent," Thomas said, and left. Moments later, Zack, the man from the boat ride over showed up.

"Hello, Claire, I need to give you some information about shipping and earning money." Fun, earning money. That meant working, I figured.

"Mm hm," I mumbled as I trudged over to the shipment bin where he told me to put things I wanted to sell, so he could take them to the city.

Eventually he left. I just stood there gaping at the tragic mess of a field. The mayor had explained to me yesterday that the ad was fake. That's where I found the farm, in an ad in the paper. It read, "Want to enjoy a peaceful and refreshing farm life?" and listed the mayor's number.

When I showed up a couple days later, the farm was far from peaceful and refreshing. In fact, I'd call it chaotic and tiring. It looked like a lot of work. There were no animals, except for Bailey, and the barn, stable, and chicken coop were run-down and barely looked livable.

I sighed and walked towards the house. 'I might as well get to work,' I thought to myself.