I woke up the following morning to a bright and sunny day. I walked outside to find a new doghouse beside my house. "Looks like Takakura did us a favour already," I said to Freedom and Lola. The two dogs ran excitedly into their new home. They loved it. Takakura walked up to me.
"Glad to see the dogs like the new house," he said.
"Good morning Takakura. They love it. Thank you so much."
"It was nothing. So, are you ready to meet everyone in town?"
"I sure am. I can't wait to meet new people. Everyone in the city was so uptight and stressed out. It'll be nice to meet people that just enjoy life as it is." Takakura smiled again. Then we walked off the property and started into town.
I met everyone in town. I met Tim, Ruby, and their son, Rock at the Inner Inn, and Nami, a guest at the Inner Inn. I met Galen and Nina, Wally Chris and Hugh, Griffin and Muffy at the Blue Bar, Romana Sebastian and Lumina at Romana's Villa, Vesta Marlin and Celia at Vesta's Farm, Kassey and Patrick, Daryl, Carter and Flora, Gustafa, Dr. Hardy, Van, and Cody. Everyone's unique and I know I'm going to make some great friends. Romana remembered me when we got to her villa. Lumina kind of remembered me. We had become friend the last time I was in Forget-Me-Not Valley.
After meeting everybody, I went back to my farm. "Thanks for helping me meet everyone," I said.
"You're welcome," Takakura replied. "I'm going to head to Mineral Town. If you ever need anything, my hut's right over there." Takakura motioned to a house on my farm. "I wander around a lot and you can catch me in the mornings before I go to the city. I'll talk to you later." Takakura walked away. I decided to talk to Vesta about fertilizer. I walked over to her farm and was greeted by Marlin.
"Hey Marvin," I said.
"It's Marlin," he corrected me. I blushed slightly, embarrassed by my mistake. "Don't worry about it. You're new here. I don't mind if you get my name wrong." I smiled. "Anyway, what can I do for you today?"
"I was wondering if you carry fertilizer."
"We most certainly do. How much do you need?"
"I should probably get completely stocked up. So, maybe one hundred bags."
"That's 6000G normally," Marlin leaned in and then whispered, "but I'll give you a discount because you're new. 4000G."
"I can't accept such an offer."
"Please, it's the least I can do to help you get started."
"Well, alright." I handed him the 4000G and he placed one hundred bags of fertilizer in my rucksack. I seriously don't get how it didn't weigh anything… "Thank you so much."
"It's my pleasure. So, I'll see you around?" I blushed slightly and nodded. I smiled and then left to fertilize the pasture.
After fertilizing the pasture and letting Buttercup out, I decided to go for a walk through town. Lola and Freedom followed behind me. I walked up to Romana's Villa to see Lumina. As I approached, I heard someone playing piano. I quietly opened the door and walked in. When I saw Romana's cats, I turned to Freedom and Lola. "You two stay out here," I said. They sat down and I closed the door behind me. I looked to see Lumina playing the piano. The music was beautiful and flowing. Romana was standing behind her, listening. When Lumina finished, Romana walked to her room. "That was lovely, Lumina," I commented. Lumina turned around on her piano bench, slightly startled.
"Oh, Jo. I didn't notice you come in," she said. "And thanks." I noticed something different about Lumina. She looked troubled.
"Is something wrong Lumina?"
"It's just… Grandma Romana expects so much of me. What if I don't end up as good as she wants me to? What if I mess up in front of her?" I then realized what was going on. Lumina was trying to live up to Romana's standards. She was worried about what Romana thought about her.
"You know what? Don't worry about it. If you mess up, your grandmother won't hold it against you. She loves you. And even if you don't end up as great a pianist as she wants, she won't hate you. She'll still love you."
"Thanks. Do you think I should keep playing piano though?"
"If that's what you want to do, then keep doing it. But if piano isn't your passion, you're not obliged to continue. Talk to your grandmother if you want to stop. I'm sure she'll understand."
"What if she doesn't?"
"Listen, I didn't know your grandmother very well, but my grandfather wrote me plenty of letters about the people of town. He said your grandmother was a very kind and understanding lady. Trust me, she would understand." Lumina smiled at me.
"Thanks Jo. How's city life, by the way?"
"It's not too bad. I think I like it here better though." Lumina looked at the floor. She seemed to be contemplating something. "What's on your mind?"
"I… I got a letter the other day…"
"Isn't that normal?"
"Yeah, but this one was different. I don't know the person who sent it to me, but he seemed to know me."
"What do you mean Lumina?"
"He knew a lot about me. My name, where I live. It was weird… But what was even weirder was he mentioned you."
"How so?"
"He knew you and wanted me to send him a letter once you got here."
"What's his name?"
"He said his name was Kyle." My heart nearly stopped.
"You haven't sent him a letter back yet, have you?"
"Not yet. Would you like to see the one he sent me?" I nodded. "Alright. Let's go to my room and I'll show you." I followed Lumina to her room, wondering what he could possibly want from Lumina.
