Lightfall Farm

Chapter 7

I felt stupid following the little curly-q man around. The top of his absurd hair barely even came to my ribs, and I wasn't even that tall to begin with. I sighed, tired of following Mayor Hamilton without explanations.

We were to the point on the island that I had not explored yet. I felt terribly lost, almost a little bit thankful that I was being led instead of exploring around on my own. The trees that surrounded the path had turned into tall, strong thick pines. The smell of sawdust and fresh cut wood was all around us. It emanated from a log-built building with an assortment of tables and tools. I guess it's the lumber mill or something like that. At one of the work benches that were outside, I could see a boy about my own age, maybe a tad-bit older, working. He had dark blue hair with a flaming white bandana. I could see a wide grin on his face. What he was smiling at, I hadn't the faintest clue. I'd have to go and talk to him later. See what all the smiling is about.

After walking about a half mile, we came to another district that Hamilton told me was Caramel River district. It seemed empty and almost desolate, to be honest. There were no houses in this place, just random patches of forest, streams flowing about, and a few other landscape icons. Nothing seemed healthy about this place. The grass was terse and dry under-foot, the water looked stagnant and dull. The state of the place was almost heart-wrenching.

"This place looks… sick, Hamilton." My voice caught in my throat a little bit. The island was beautiful, but this place was run-down and awful.

"That's because the Harvest Goddess has abandoned us. This used to be a large, fertile farm. Now, it's a wasteland." Hamilton's normal up-beat tone was sullen and defeated. I could tell he loved this island very much, only wanting to see it prosper. "I hate to ask you this, Akari, but will you restore this land? I feel like your presence will cause a change. A prosperous change."

For a moment, I didn't feel entirely creeped out by the short man. I felt honest sincerity coming from him. He really wanted this place to be fertile and healthy again. I reflected on what he said. The Harvest Goddess. The spirit of the earth. All lands had their own spirit that protected the land. What had happened to Waffle Island that had made the island fall into this state of infertility?

Before I could space out anymore, Hamilton took off down the path. I followed him over a small wooden bridge, with chipped, worn out red paint. It was well weathered, but sturdy. I looked up the stream a little ways and say a huge waterfall in the distance. It was beautiful amidst the dreariness of the area. Down the stream was a vast ocean. I sighed as I thought about Flower Bud Village, hundreds of miles across the ocean on the mainland. When would I get to go back home and see my family?

The only other distinguishable feature of the area was a small cottage - if you could even call it that. It was shoddy at best. The roof seemed like it was sagging from disuse and disrepair. The paint was curling off the sides, and it seemed like almost all of the small windows were nothing but shattered glass. There was a mailbox, sitting crooked in the dirt. I walked up a little closer to it and examined it. The inscription read 'Jack.' For some reason, I felt a wave of nostalgia rush over me. I felt like all of this was… familiar. I shook off the weird feeling and looked at Hamilton.

"Would you like to live here?"

My first instinct was to let my jaw drop. Live there? In that wreck? Ha. But, then again, I was living in some guest room working for someone that I didn't have a particular interest in, or even liked. Hell, this actually seemed like a good opportunity, despite the condition. I was good at decorating and fixing things up. It could be my own little project and make my house look exactly the way I wanted it to.

"Uh… yes," Was my unsure answer. Despite my ideas of fixing the place up, I still had major doubts about whether living here would be… okay.

"Okay! Here's the key."

"What? I don't have to pay anything or sign anything or house-owning stuff?"

"No. It's yours. Bye now!" And with that, the short little creep waddled off in the direction of Waffle Town.

I stood there baffled as I held the chipped silver key in my hand. I'd just been given a house, free of charge, with no trouble at all. It was… odd. Whatever the case, I walked over to house and shoved the key into the tarnished lock and jiggled the knob until the door came open.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I went into the house, but what I saw made me fall in love. There was already an ample amount of furniture in the house. All of it was classic and antique. A table with a beautiful chestnut stain, a simple wooden bed with a rather fluffy looking mattress, as well a few other small necessities, accompanied by an absurdly thick layer of dust with a lingering musty smell from the trapped air.

It seemed that the storms had not been kind to the wooden floor, though, due to the broken windows. Leaves littered the floor, along with dirt and a few stray branches. Looks like I had my work cut out for me.

-xxx-

For the rest of the day, I walked back and forth from Soufflé Farm, carrying my few belongings back to my new house. It was a grueling task that my back did not enjoy, but eventually Craig decided to help me haul the rest of my things across Caramel River district.

"Thanks, I really appreciate your help Craig," I extended my hand to the crabby old man.

He just turned away, waving his hand. "I couldn't let such a scrawny little girl carry all that stuff by herself." And with that, he walked back towards his home.

The sun was beginning to set and I was exhausted. Boxes littered the little house, but for the first time since I had come here, I felt at home. I couldn't explain the warm happiness that filled me when I saw the rickety shack that was supposed to a house. Something about it just made me happy and I was actually excited about repairing it.

After taking a shower and taking forever to find my pajamas in the boxes, I settled into old, weathered bed. The covers didn't smell very good, but they were warm. I'd have to buy some candles and definitely wash them, but that could wait until tomorrow.

-xxx-

Having a house right on the ocean has it's benefits, but the sun shining right in your windows as soon as it peaks over the horizon is not one of them. I groaned as I pulled my pillow over my face, trying to block out the light that was shining directly in my eyes, but now that I was fully awake, there wasn't any going back to sleep. Sighing, I pulled myself out of bed and I came to the slow realization I didn't have a kitchen.

"What kind of messed of house is this!? Dammit, I'm starving," I said as I rummaged through my bag, only finding a box of granola bars. I threw my head back in frustration, and decided that I'd just go easy on the granola bars until I could get my hands on some more food.

I changed out of my pajamas into some comfortable work clothes and started putting things away on shelves and such. I'd been working for about an hour when there was knock on the door. It was a bit shocking, since I hadn't told anyone I'd moved out here yet. But, this is a small island and word probably travels fast.

Opening the door, I saw that it was blue-headed boy from the wood shop.

"Hello," He said, in a very peppy voice. He seemed very energetic, especially so early in the morning.

"Uh… hi. Sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"Oh yeah! My name's Luke and I'm the best lumberjack in all the world."

"Nice to meet you…. Luke. I'm Akari."

"Same to you. So, uh, what'cha up to?" This was turning into some stereotypical conversation and I was getting bored.

"Well, I'm just putting away my stuff."

"Ooh, can I help?" Luke looked really excited about the chance to help. To be honest, I really didn't want any help putting away my stuff. Sometimes I just liked doing things by myself.

"Er, thanks, but no thanks. I'm almost done." I lied, but Luke was a ball of energy and I was still too early in the day to deal with that. Way too early.

"Okay…" Luke looked a little bit defeated, but started turn to leave.

"Sorry, maybe we can hang out some time later?" It was the best offer I could manage, and it seemed to perk him up a little it.

"Sure! How about Sundae Inn later this afternoon?" Luke's blue eyes were bright and fully of energy, how could I say no?

"Sounds good," I said as I shut the door, trying not to provoke any further conversation.

Just as I thought Luke was walking away, I heard something behind me. It was Luke with his head through one of the broken windows. "I'll drop by later! Bye-bye!" With that, he left. I walked over to the window, to see him jogging away. I couldn't help but smile at his boyish antics, but decided that I should get back to work.