Jack slept a very peaceful, undisturbed sleep. He had finally made it the previous day and met Takakura, an old friend of his long dead father and the keeper of the grounds. He had dreamed of the days when he and his father had lived far away in the city with his mother. They had been a happy family until one day his father had left them without so much as a note to where he was going, why he left, or a goodbye. He hadn't heard from his father since until he received a letter from Takakura stating that his father was in fact dead and had left his farm to Jack.
Jack's alarm clock went off and he found himself in his father's old farmhouse. Why his father had never written to him about his wonderful farm was beyond Jack. Jack pushed himself onto his elbows and rubbed his eyes. He looked around the dimly lit room to find Colin fast asleep on the rug at the foot of the bed. Colin started to twitch in his sleep and finally slumped as if dead. Jack smiled to himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Time to start farm life.
Jack waltzed into the kitchen to find the refrigerator almost completely empty except for a small apple and bottle of water. His head hung low for a second as he let out a sigh, for he had realized he had forgotten to pack food. "Huh, well that's great. I guess next time I should triple check my inventory…I wonder if I could borrow something from Takakura…"
Jack took a quick shower, put on the closest clothes he could find, slipped on his backpack, and walked out the door, making sure it didn't slam behind him. The morning was young and the new spring air hit Jack with full force. He stretched his sore legs and stretched his arms up to the lightly star-speckled sky, looking around at the morning dew on the grass and listening to the soft coo of a morning dove. He walked over to Takakura's house and put his head against the door, trying to listen for any breathing or movement.
Just then a door closed and Jack turned around to see Takakura walking outside with a small cow in tow. Takakura had shown him the new cow just last night but Jack had been too tired to realize what was even going on. The cow wandered over to the grass and started munching. Takakura turned around and gave Jack a little wave and nod as if to show his recognition. Takakura had a sharp chiseled face as if out of stone with aged black hair. He had an extremely dark tan for he was always working out in the fields tending to the animals and working around the farm to keep it in tip top shape.
"Well hello Jack. I didn't think you would be up this early, but you do resemble your father in looks, maybe some of his farming genes are in you as well. This is the new cow I got for you as a start, but I'm not sure you were awake enough to remember." Takakura smiled at Jack's immediate embarassment. Apparently Jack hadn't been the only one to notice his lack of attention last night. "I didn't give her a name yet, and she had a calf a while back so she's all ready for milking. You can milk her twice a day, early in the morning and later in the evening." He stood there obviously waiting for Jack to respond, but he didn't know quite what to say. "So…what should her name be …or are you still thinking?"
"Oh! Sorry I kind of zoned out. Uh…how about Sarah? I had an aunt named Sarah…" Takakura seemed to ponder on Jack's name choice and finally smiled. "It seems to be a perfect name for your first cow. Sarah! Come here girl!" Takakura took out a small bell and it gave a faint yet sweet sound and the cow looked up from the grass it had been happily munching, straightened up, and made its way over to Takakura and Jack.
Surprisingly, this cow seemed to have personality, for when it came up to them, it immediately started nudging Jack and gave a small moo, as if to say it was a pleasure in making his acquaintance.
"Well now! Sarah seems to be quite content with you! Just brush her and talk to her twice a day at least if you really want her to give you the best milk possible." Jack turned to Takakura with a purely confused expression upon his face.
Takakura seemed to notice right away for he then began to explain. "You see Jack, cows have to be milked twice a day or else they become sick. The more your cow loves you, the better quality milk you will receive and in the long run that's probably one of the things you will want to focus on. You must keep your cow happy. And, if you do this, your cow will produce more milk than the average three bottles a normal cow will give. Do you follow?" Jack nodded his head as a sign of understanding and Takakura clapped his hands together with a loud smack. "Wonderful! Well, I have business to attend to in Mineral Town so I best be leaving. You'll be fine. Oh, and since it's a nice day, bring Sarah outside so you won't have to worry about her not getting fed enough fodder. If it starts to rain, bring her in. No one wants to stand outside in the rain. Since its early, why don't you milk Sarah and start to familiarize yourself with the valley? Take a walk, meet people, talk. Me, I'm not much of a people person but I advise you to make sure you get yourself acquainted with them. There's a variety of people in this valley…and when I say variety, hell, do I mean variety. You'll see for yourself. Alright I'm off. Have a nice day and I'll see you around three in the afternoon. Enjoy the farm life kid!"
After a small smile and a quick wave, Takakura strolled away to the high road where Jack and Colin had made their way to the valley. It was the only road out and the only road in.
Jack rung the outside bell and Sarah quickly (well as a quickly as cows usually move anyway) made her way out the door. Colin had followed him outside and had hopped the fence of the lush green field. It was a pretty decent sized field. It held a lone tree in the middle along with a small pond right in front of the tree. The tree was in full bloom now and the pink petals from the cherryblossom flowers fluttered down into the pond, riding the air like a wave.
Sarah was happily munching on the newly grown grass as Jack waited patiently for her to finish. Finally she lifted her head and walked toward Jack, as if ready and waiting to be milked. As Jack squatted so to be eye-level with the utters, he realized he had a problem. He had never milked a cow before and had no idea as to how. Takakura had left without saying anything to him about the process of milking or anything of that sort. Jack was at a complete and total loss.
"Well, I guess I could give it a shot…" Jack shifted a little so he was directly in front of the utters. They didn't look too complicated. They were as he had seen in pictures; four pink utters hanging from the underside of the cow's belly.
Jack slowly moved his hand towards one of the closer utters and closed his hand around it. It was warm and slightly fuzzy, although it looked rather slick and hairless. Sarah shifted her head towards him, watching him with questioning eyes. Jack gave a short squeeze, yet nothing came out. He tried again. Still nothing. The next time, Jack shifted his hand farther up the utter, and with slight force, he squeezed while pulling down. Warm milk came squirting out into the bucket. Jack was quite pleased with himself and looked up at Sarah with a big smile on his face. To his content, she gave a soft moo as to show her satisfaction.
Jack continued on until, finally, no more milk would come. He had managed to fill 2 buckets, which would fit into four bottles. Jack rose from his sitting position and took out the brush that Takakura had left him. He brushed Sarah and he talked to her until she gave him a soft nuzzle and wandered off on her own.
Jack stretched with his back arched and arms reaching towards the sky. He looked around only to realize his work for the day was completed. He was now free to do what he wanted…but what was there to do?