Chapter 10 – Welcome, Mark and Sabrina!

Tying my trademark bandanna in place, I glanced out the window. Winter had taken its leave, bringing all of the snow with it. Now, buds were appearing on the trees, and it was time to do some planting. Spring was here.

I yawned, thinking about the day before. The New Years Day festival had stocked my fridge with extra rice cakes, which Noe seemed delighted about. Then me and the Harvest Sprite had our own little celebration, one to celebrate my first whole year on the island.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I called, "Come in!"

I turned around and stared in shock. I hadn't seen those green eyes in how long? "Mark?"

"Surprise, Chelsea," he replied, winking.

I walked over to him, a big smile on my face. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, I heard that you were living here now, and decided to check it out. I didn't know you had an interest in farming."

"I never did, until I came here," I replied. "It's been how long? Two years since we've last seen each other?"

He thought for a moment, then said, "Yup. About two years."

"I've missed you!" I said, hugging him.

He hugged me back. "Same."

I pulled away to study him. "You're here to learn farming, aren't you?"

He laughed. "You always did have a knack to know what I was up to."

"Well, you came at the right place at the right time," I said, opening the door and stepping outside. "I gotta plant today. And since you wanna learn how to farm, you get to help out!" I winked and stuck out my tongue.

"First farming, now teaching?" he asked, laughing, walking out with me.

"I know, I know. The two things I said that I would never be," I replied, making my way across the field to the barn.

Following, Mark questioned, "What's with that red hut?"

Pushing the barn door open, I took out my brush and responded, "Funny. You're the first one to ask."

Leaning against the wall of the barn, he replied, "Yeah? Well, what's it for?"

"Will you think I'm crazy?" I questioned, calling Tea over.

"Probably."

"Alright then. It's the home of--" The surprised yell from Mark cut me off. Turning to him, I starting laughing as he yelled, "W-what is that?!"

Noe turned to me, looking hurt. I shrugged and said, "I told you that you were scary, Noe."

Noe's face cracked with a smile, and he turned back to the now curious Mark. "Welcome to the island, Mark! I'm Noe, the Harvest Sprite. Nice to meet you!"

"Harvest Sprite?" Mark bent down and poked Noe on the forehead. "Well, you're definitely real."

"Of course I'm real!" said Noe, rubbing the spot Mark's finger hit.

"Well, he lives in the hut," I voiced in, turning back to Tea. "So, how come he can see you, Noe?"

"No idea. Only the Harvest Goddess knows. I think it's because he wants to be a farmer."

"Well, I never wanted to be a farmer, but here I am, talking to you."

"Maybe you wanted to be a farmer deep down?"

"Hello? I'm still here, you know," said Mark, sitting down.

"So, Mark, what made you want to be a farmer?" asked Noe, sitting down in front of him.

As Noe asked question after question, I finished up with the cows. Picking up my two bottles of milk, I tossed one to Mark. "Here, taste it."

Taking a swig, his face lit up. "That's pretty good!"

"Thank Niki for it," I replied, walking out of the barn. "And have the rest of the milk. I can't sell it now that you've contaminated it."

"Thanks," he replied, taking another swig.

Dropping the milk in the barn, Cloud came running from the field, barking excitedly. Tail wagging, he sniffed Mark's leg in wonder.

"Where have you been?" I asked the brown dog, patting him on the head.

"A dog? What's its name?" asked Mark, kneeling down to scratch Cloud behind the ears.

"His name's Cloud," I responded, looking down the path. "I gotta get some seeds. Come on."

"See ya, little guy," said Mark, patting Cloud on the head and following me into town.

Julia was on her way to Elliot's when she spotted me and called, "Hey Chelsea! Who's this?"

I waited as Julia reached us, and I said, "Julia, this is my childhood friend, Mark. Mark, this is Julia."

"Nice to meet you," said Mark, extending his hand.

"Same," replied Julia, shaking it.

"Going to see Elliot?" I asked, a teasing tone creeping into my voice.

Her face went a little pink. "Yes. And where are you going?"

"To get seeds from Chen."

"Oh, well, have fun!" She waved as she entered Elliot's house.

"She seemed nice," said Mark as we walked into Chen's store.

"She's already taken," I replied. "Chen! Some turnips, potatoes, and cucumbers please!"

Expecting me, Chen pulled out the seed bags and handed them to me. I placed the money on the counter and exited, giving my thanks on the way.

"I hate having to plant," I sighed, setting the bags on the edge of the field. "Stay right here. I'm gonna get my watering can and hoe."

Walking in the house, I went straight to my tool box, opening it and taking out the essential tools. Walking back outside, I handed Mark the watering can and said, "Fill it up, please."

"Sure," he replied, walking off in the direction of the river.

The dirt was hard from the snow, so it took a while to loosen it up. After I had plots set out, Mark came back with the watering can. "Good. Just set it down by the seed bags."

Setting it down, he looked at me and asked, "How else can I help?"

"Come here. I'll show you how to work the hoe."

After showing him, I stood back and watched.

"You do this every time the season changes?" he asked after a while, taking off his hat and using it as a fan.

"Yup. Any second thoughts about becoming a farmer?"

"If you can do it, I think I can manage," he replied, putting his blue and white cap back on. "Oh, hey, I just remembered. I came here with three other people."

"Three others?"

"Yeah. A black haired girl and her father, I think. And a cowboy. You know them?"

"I know the cowboy, but not the other two. I'll have to meet them." Just then footsteps sounded from the path, and I turned to see Vaughn. "Hey, Vaughn!"

Mark looked at Vaughn and said, "That's the cowboy."

"Cowboy?" questioned Vaughn, walking up next to me.

"Yeah. You," I said, chuckling. "Vaughn, meet Mark. Mark, Vaughn."

"Hey. We took the same boat here," said Mark, extending his hand.

"Yeah," replied Vaughn, shaking it.

"Mark, want me to take over?" I asked, nodding at the hoe.

"No, I got it."

Shrugging, I sat down, Vaughn sitting next to me.

"So," he said, nodding to Mark. "You know him from somewhere?"

"He's my childhood friend. I've know him for years," I replied. "Hey, Mark said that two other people came today."

"Oh, Sabrina?"

It was my turn to ask. "You know her?"

"Yeah. I've known her since I was little. She's here with her dad, Regis. They run a mining company."

"Mining? Is there a mine here?"

He looked at me and shook his head in amusement. "You know that cave on the side of the Mountain?"

"Yeah."

"That's the mine."

"Oh."

Mark laughed. "You never change, Chels."

"Shut up!" But I joined in his laugh.

I heard a noise from the path and turned my head to see a girl with glasses and black hair come walking up. Standing up, I walked over to greet her. "Hi, I'm Chelsea, the farmer here. You must be Sabrina."

She looked taken aback. "Y-yes, I am, but how…" She looked behind me and spotted Vaughn. "Oh."

"So you have a mining company?" I asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Yes. We heard that there's a mine here, and we came here to have a look at it." She gave me a shy smile. "I'm sorry, but I must return to the house. We're still unpacking. I just came around to greet everyone."

"Oh, well, it was nice to meet you," I said, returning her smile. "I hope we can become good friends and you start to feel at home here."

"T-thank you," she replied. With that, she turned around and disappeared.

Walking back to the field, I said, "She's definitely shy. Reminds me of you in a way, Vaughn."

He gave me a smile, but didn't say anything.

As the day progressed, Mark and I took turns tilling, and I showed him how to plant. Vaughn just stood by and watched, helping out on occasion. When the last seed was watered, I stretched and said, "Well, that's what we farmers do when the seasons change, Mark."

"It's hard work," he replied, brushing dirt off his pants.

"I guess you'll fall asleep fast tonight, huh?" I asked, smiling.

"You betcha! Well, I'll be leaving now. Have a good rest of the day, Chels!" he said, starting down the path, raising his hand in farewell.

Looking up at the orange sky, I sighed.

"Tired?" asked Vaughn beside me.

"Very."

"Well, get a good night's sleep," he said, taking my hand and squeezing it before walking down the path.

I took a hot, refreshing shower that night. Crawling in to bed, I thought, This is gonna be fun! More people have moved in!

But I couldn't shake the feeling that with Mark and Sabrina here, things were going to come to a standstill.

Finally, some foreshadowing! I've always pictured Chelsea and Mark being childhood friends.