II. Farming, Saving Towns, The Family Business
The atmosphere in Zephyr town was, to put it simply, peaceful. The breeze was fresh. There wasn't the salty tang that it had back in the island nor did it have that smoky scent that the city has. It felt so countryside, quite like her Uncle Jack's Forget-Me-Not Valley. It was a new scenery, far from the city and even farther from the island. It's a perfect place for her fresh start.
"Ah! You must be the new farmer." A booming voice caught her attention and she saw a huge burly man with a black top hat coming her way. "Welcome to Zephyr Town! Come, come, let me show you around." And he grabbed her bags and gestured towards the entrance to the town.
"Erm, w-wait." He didn't wait. She followed him though. He had her bags after all.
"Ah! We're finally here. This is your new home, Zephyr Town." He exclaimed once they've entered the town. There were closed stalls for an – obviously – bazaar. It didn't seem to change much from her childhood except for the fact that it was smaller than what she remembered it to be and that the place was desolate and sad compared to the bright images and memory of laughter in her memories. "Sorry, what was your name again?"
And she tried not to facepalm at that. Here was a man who took her bags, welcomed her and he didn't even know if she was the right person. What if she'd been someone else? What if this wasn't meant for her? Gah. "Anita. Anita Lawrence."
"Ah! That's right." He gave a chuckle. "Now, when were you born?"
What's with all the question, she wanted to ask but it felt rude. "Winter 13."
"Winter 13, you say?"
"Yes."
"Ah! The town is quite a sight that time of the year. I am Felix, I'm the mayor of this humble town." So he's the mayor. Do all mayors wear top hats? She remembered that mayor from Mineral Town with his own top hat. If so, then old man Taro was way behind of time. "I'm glad that young folks are interested in farming. It's great to have you here, Anita!"
"I'm glad to be here too, honestly." She responded.
He gestured towards the empty bazaar. "Take a look, Anita. This is the entrance into town, as well as the site of our bazaar. Once a week, the citizens in town set it up to attract visitors. Many things are sold, and the customers always leave happy."
She looked around the place. It certainly doesn't look like the same bazaar from her memories.
"Yes," He sighed. "Unfortunately, your face says it all, Anita. The bazaar used to be a much grander event… Our once world-famous bazaar has now just become a small market. If thing continue like this, the bazaar might even close for good soon."
She gaped at that. She knew the situation was bad but she didn't expect it to be that bad. "We can't have that." She exclaimed. "I used to come here with my family during the summer. It's my childhood."
"Don't worry! As Mayor, I can't and won't stand idly by and watch that happen!" He looked at her with that bright eyes and grin. "Anita! I'd like you to open a store at our bazaar!"
"Me?"
"You could sell products from your farm." He nodded. "And the better your products, the more you'll be able to sell! You'll earn fame as a great farmer, and you'll be helping the town! Isn't that a great idea? You'll help us out, right, Anita?"
"Of course I'll help!" She proclaimed. "I won't let the bazaar shut down."
Felix gave a booming laugh. "Fantastic! I knew you'd say yes! Remember, everyone in town is counting on you to help us, Anita! Now then, let me show you where you'll be staying." He walked down the road, still carrying her bags and talking all the while.
She listened with half an ear as he chattered on, mind at the fact that the fate of the bazaar rests on her tiny shoulders. What the heck, Anita, she thought to herself. Start thinking before you promise something. What if you fail? People are depending on you. I'll just have to not fail then, she thought. After all, as her aunt and uncle and mom used to say, farming, saving towns, it's a family business.
The farm was quite clean compared to how she expected it to look. There weren't any huge boulders or tree stumps to take out or even littering branches and stones around the plots. It wasn't large, but dad used to say that the Iselia was small when it started and now look at how it is. When Felix asked her for the name of the farm, she was certain that it was the hardest question she's ever been asked. According to her aunt and uncle, it was also the hardest question they've been asked, but she couldn't really applaud their naming skills with her aunt's Zillia farm and her uncle's Acorn farm (almost named Farm Farm). Of course, her mom's naming skills weren't any better. She almost named her children Hansel and Gretel when she found out that she was having twins – boy and girl. Luckily, her dad managed to veto that idea and she was named Anita, after Grandma Anna.
Point still stands, she didn't know what to name her farm and she didn't want to end up with a lame name like Acorn farm ("I love you, Uncle Jack"). Then, she remembered those patches of flowers that grew all over the town and she blurted out the first thing in her head, "Bouquet." She wanted to slap her forehead at that. It was a stupid name. What the heck? Bouquet Farm? But before she could take back her words, Felix laughed and told her that the name was fitting for a farm – which was crazy and she wondered if the mayor had the same problem as her mother side of the family did, lack of naming sense.
"How about you move around and take a look at the farm." Felix suggested. "When you're done, talk to me."
"Got it."
"Well, I'll be waiting at the front of your house." He said and left, carrying her bags – both the large backpack and the large luggage. Her small bag was still on her person.
Anita stayed on the spot for a few moments before she toured her new farm. It was quaint and the plots on the land were limited. There was a dug-out of well water at the side, a large signboard right at the front of the plots of land and a mailbox at the side. She went up the stairs and went to look at the back of the house. The pasture was large. And by that, she really meant that it was freaking large. Her eyes were huge because Iselia farm was large but that because it was, well, successful. Besides, the large part was mostly the land where they planted the crops, not the pastures.
"Okay," She said, approaching Felix. "This place is cleaner than I expected and wow, it's really huge."
"Ah, when the last farmer left, I made sure that the place would still be well-kept." He gave a smile. "This farm is
"Let us take a look in your new house, shall we?" And he opened the door and let her in first.
The place was amazing. And large. Especially since she was going to be living alone. Their house in the island was huge, yeah, but she lived there with her dad, (sometimes) her brother and the farmhands. This was like the size of the family summer house. Wow.
"Come here, Anita, this is the storage." Felix pointed at the door down her bed. "Take a look inside."
It was small, admittedly. She could probably fit a couple of things here, but not that many. Well, that was a downer.
"It's small" was all she could say.
"Ah, yes. You can expand it at the bazaar. Wilbur is the one you want to talk to about those things." Felix said. "He's the one who made that bookshelf." He pointed at the empty bookshelf at the corner. "He put that there as a housewarming gift, hope you'd like it."
"It's amazing. I suppose I should thank him when I go around introducing myself." She said.
"You remind me of my daughter. I'm sure you'll be great friends." He gave a laugh and patted her head, which was demeaning because, yes, she's a tall girl but this guy was a titan. At the same time, it reminded her of old man Taro, her surrogate grandfather – kind of her step-great-grandfather now that her dad married his granddaughter. It was a nice feeling.
"Ah, are there any paperwork I need to do?" She asked.
"Just a couple." He answered. "They're right there," he nodded at the table where a few papers laid, ones that she hadn't noticed earlier. "You can give them to me tomorrow. I'll swing by in the morning." He gave that booming laugh that was slowly getting familiar. "Ah well, I'll leave you to your unpacking. You should rest, you had a busy day earlier. Also, there is a calendar that my daughter left. She circled the important days - the bazaars and festival days. Check it out."
"Thanks and I will." She waved good bye at him.
As soon as he was gone, she explored her new house. There was a fireplace and a couple of logs by the side, she decided to leave that for later. There was an empty kitchen. There weren't any cooking utensils, so she'll just buy some in town when she come by tomorrow. When she entered the bathroom, there was a tub and an automated heater. Pretty advanced for a small town far from the city.
She looked at the calendar. There were circles on dates and had words written on tiny loopy handwriting. There were also names of people - she guessed they were the villagers and that was their birthdays. She added her name and Oliver's there on Winter 13.
She then unpacked her bags. She only brought a huge luggage full of clothing and a backpack full of her personal things. The first thing she took out were the picture frames. They were mostly family pictures. One that would help her through homesickness. There was a 'family picture' of the whole islanders. One of her family – her mom, her dad, her brother and her. One of her and her brother. One of her mother. She made sure to place them on surface of the fireplace.
She also brought out her photo albums. The one that she just hurriedly dumped in her bag. She placed them in the bookshelves. She took a look inside her bag to see if there were anything else to place in the shelf. She saw her journal, some stationary and a couple of books. She put them all in the bookshelves. She didn't have much with her. She didn't even have any tools to help her till the land or plant crops. She supposed she'd buy some later. Well, when she got enough money. She only had 1000G with her. She used the rest on ship ticket, bus fare and food during her journey. So much for her savings.
There wasn't much to do. She made sure to sign the paperwork left on the table and write a letter to her brother. Her father was out on his honeymoon and she hadn't told anyone but her aunt and brother about her decision to move in Zephyr Town. Oliver was supportive of her. He always was. And he said that he would send her letters every week if she did the same. It was a short letter that composed of her assurance that she arrived safe. She described the town in her letters, that it was beautiful and so different from the island. Flowers sprouted from the ground and there were butterflies. Can he believe that? She hadn't seen any butterflies before – not even in Mineral Town or Forget-Me-Not Valley or any of the other islands. He should visit the bazaar when he has the time. The town is only an hour away from the city, after all. She finished her letter with a promise to write more. She also wrote a same letter that would be sent to her dad. The difference was, she wrote there that she wasn't mad at him or bitter about his new marriage. She loved him but she felt a need for change. She wanted an adventure, a new life. It was like him and mom when they've started Iselia.
She sealed those two and dropped dead on her new bed, tired but pleased. She was eager to see what this new town had in store for her.
My farm in Grand Bazaar is called Boquet (which is wrong spelling I know, but it's the only one that fit in the 6 letter limit. Iselia is the name of my farm in Sunshine Islands and Acorn was from my farm in HM:DS. Zillia was my DS:Cute and MFoMT farm.
So, in DS, when you marry a Mineral Town girl, you move to Mineral Town. In DS:Cute, that's not the case. So, Zillia is in Forget-Me-Not-Valley