Chapter Two
I surveyed my small plot of land, my new home. The idea still felt foreign in my head; I couldn't believe that I'd gone from Chicago to this!
Thick, plump trees and growths of tall-grass filled in the gaps between the barn and a picturesque European-style cottage. A chicken coop was to the other side of the house, and I could hear the obnoxious cries of a hen from within the wooden walls. The barn and the coop each had small pens across from them. A minute patch of dirt was to the side of the house, most likely for growing plants. The dirt also foraged a path to the back of the cottage, where an empty fenced-in field was. The grass was unbelievably thick and the entire area was amazingly verdant.
I knew I should have been tired, but instead, I was hyper and energized. It had to be around seven at night, and what kind of loser goes to bed at seven? I giggled to myself, as most of the lights in the village were off as I walked through.
My pony began to walk towards the stables, so I accompanied her, absentmindedly petting her smooth, snowy coat. It had been less than an hour, yet I was completely comfortable with her. I suspected it had something to do with all of the horse movies I'd watched growing up, and the fact that my parents sometimes let me help them tend to the carriage-pulling horses in downtown when the elegant, strong creatures needed their vaccinations or check-ups.
Walking inside the stable, I noticed a stout, wrinkled woman who looked about my mother's age. She had a messy, mousy-brown bob and was wearing mismatched patterned dresses, and looked like she'd walked out of LittleHouseonthePrairie.
"You must be Lillian," she said warmly, extending a small, meaty hand.
"And you're Jessica. Pleasure," I responded.
"My, you're a skinny one! I've already made it my personal mission to fatten you up, dear," she said, smiling. I attempted to smile back, but getting fat wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to.
She took no notice of my awkwardness, and began to show me around the barn, even giving me a full-grown cow and teaching me how to milk it, brush its fur, and feed it, along with care instructions for my pony, Luna. "My children and I run an animal shop in town. Right past the shipping bin, across from Grady's. You can't miss it. You'll get everything you need for your animals there after you run out of the fodder I've given you," she elucidated in her kind, motherly voice. "I'm sure you'll do just fine as a farmer, though, my son's the best," she added boastfully.
"I'm sure he is," I said honestly. "I'm very new to this. Very."
"Oh, don't you dare worry about a thing," she pressed, then walked me to the coop, where she gave me a hen and chicken feed. "This one lays one egg per day. She's a real beauty, isn't she?"
I was unsure of how a chicken could be beautiful, but nodded nonetheless. "Thank you for all of this," I said, meaning every word of it more than she could know. Now, I knew I wouldn't be completely lost.
"Oh, pish-posh, Lillian! It's been nearly a decade since the last new family moved here! Everyone's so excited to meet you!" she squealed, hugging me tightly. She reeked of manure and flowers, an odd combination, though I was sure I'd smell the same within a few days.
I gulped. I wasn't a people person.
"We're all very friendly! Like one big family! Now, run off to bed. You've got a big day ahead of you," she said. "Goodnight!"
I smiled weakly as I walked from the coop to my cottage. I noticed that the doors didn't have locks, and immediately, my mind came to the worst possible courses of action.
Would I get robbed? Murdered on my first night in Bluebell? I broke into a cold sweat, and collapsed onto my large and unexpectedly comfortable bed. The quilt was thick and soft, reminiscent of the bedspread I'd had in Chicago.
I noticed a heap of clothing at the foot of the bed, along with a note written in fancy cursive.
Lillian,
Here's some traditional Bluebell attire for you, sewed by my wife, Rose.
Enjoy!
Rutger
I slid out of my city-girl outfit and tried on the crimson dress. It started out normal, then went puffy from the waist-down. The outfit came with a vest to go over it, and on a nearby chair were brown lace-up boots were waiting for me to try on. I looked like a woman from seventeenth-century Germany, though there was no mirror in the two-room cottage to confirm my worst fears. It was comfortable, but I just felt laughable wearing it.
The main room of the house included my bed, a dresser, filled with similar clothing, a bookshelf, a calendar with various birthdays and festival dates marked on it that I didn't care to read, a small kitchen, and an oak table with two chairs.
And, in case you were wondering, the second room is the bathroom.
What planet am I on?
Tears leaked from my eyes as I, a mere sixteen year old girl, realized that I was all alone in a town of strangers, destined to run a farm. Why would my parents send me here? What possessed them to think that this was good for me?
Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the heavy wooden door. Who would bother to knock when it was unlocked? I hesitated, wondering if I should feign slumber to get the unwanted visitor to leave, when they knocked again, this time a bit louder.
Forcing a straight face, I quickly wiped the hot tears from the corners of my eyes and got up. I knew I looked ridiculous, but I figured that everyone else did, too, so it was less embarrassing. At least now, I'd fit in. Something I never could do in high school.
I opened the door quickly. A pretty, pale girl about my age with wide blue-green eyes and flaxen hair fashioned into a knot on top of her head was standing across from me, grinning widely.
"Hi! You must be Lillian! I'm Laney," she greeted me.
"Nice to meet you," I replied, though my voice was unsteady.
"Are you alright?" she asked, her smile shifting to a look of concern. "Oh, I didn't mean to bother you!" she said rapidly, frowning as she saw my red, puffy eyes.
I shook my head hastily. "I'm just a little... homesick," I said. "And scared."
"I understand," she said sympathetically. "After my mother died, my father and I moved here, and though I was only five, I remember being mad about it. I threw tantrums every day for weeks!"
I was surprised she was opening up to me so quickly, but glad I had someone to talk to. "I'm sorry about your mom," I said sheepishly. My problems dimmed in comparison to hers. I couldn't imagine my mom dying. It would be too horrible, no matter how upset I was with her for sending me here.
"Thank you," Laney said, not looking sad at all. "Just remember, everything happens for a reason. Don't be scared. I'm assuming you're not comfortable with the unlocked door. But there's never been a single crime committed here, you know. It's a small little safe haven. There are verbal arguments between the two villages, but nothing more."
"That makes me feel a bit better," I smiled, my tears totally disappearing as I blinked. Laney had a bright, friendly aura about her. Her eyes were always smiling, and from her red sweater to long plaid skirt, she seemed like quite the popular, preppy girl.
"My pleasure. You'll be a great farmer. I know it. And since my dad and I run the café, we made something to welcome you to Bluebell," she said.
"Really? You didn't have to," I replied quickly.
"It's fun to cook! I've had my fair share of practice, working at the café and participating in the cooking festivals four times a month!"
"Cooking festivals?" I asked curiously. I must have sounded so stupid.
"Oh, you don't know? Four times a month, the two villages gather at noon on the mountaintop. Three people from each village enter a dish corresponding to that festival's theme, and someone judges the food and determines which has better food," Laney explained.
"Food's taken really seriously here," I noted. "I don't get it."
"I didn't either at first," Laney admitted. "But food is really all there is, you know? You farm for food to cook with and eat. What else is there to do? There's no school, not a whole lot of electricity... I only know what the Internet is because I visited my cousins in Battery City last summer!"
I shuddered, and then we laughed in unison. I was beginning to really like Laney. She was talkative and friendly and surprisingly normal.
"Well, we got off track. Here's the gift, Lillian," she said, handing me a bag of thick chocolate-chip cookies she pulled from the pocket of her stained apron. "Food always makes me feel better when I'm upset. Enjoy!"
"Thank you. For everything," I said genuinely.
"No problem!" she insisted kindly. "It's getting late. Dad'll get worried if I stay out so late. I'd best be getting home. Come by the café tomorrow at eleven and I'll give you a town tour, gossip and rumors included! It was nice meeting you. Goodnight!"
"See you tomorrow," I said as she disappeared into the dark night, down the path that curved from my plot of land into the town. I was anxious for her town tour, along with doing some exploring of my own.
I decided it was best to end the day on a positive note. I slipped out of my dress, threw on a nightshirt from my suitcase, gathered my caramel-colored cascades of hair into a messy plait, and cocooned myself under the thick blanket; it made me feel safe and sound.
My mind, whirring with exciting thoughts of possibilities and scenarios involving my new life, didn't allow me to rest until a slight drizzle began at nearly eleven-thirty, and the calm and even pitter-patter of rain droplets on the thin roof of the cottage rocked me into a world of dreams like a baby in her mother's arms.