Thanks for clicking, lovelies!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.
A pair of paper-cut hands grabbed ahold of yet another book that had remained untouched for years. The owner of the hands, a young man, blew and brushed away the thick film of dust from the worn cover.
"Is it alright if I throw away this one? I don't think it's been opened since I was a child." His smooth voice was followed by a lengthy silence. "Father?"
Patience weaning, he looked out into the living room. Mayor Hamilton appeared to be hunched on the floor in front of the fireplace. With a quiet sigh, his son strode out of his room and stood behind his father. He sat in the center of scattered books, old papers, and other things one would store in an attic, but the one thing that caught Gill Hamilton's attention the most was the picture clutched in his father's hands.
"Oh, s-sorry…" the older man stumbled before hastily placing the picture of his wife in the box beside him. "What was it you were asking again?"
Gill looked down with tired eyes and tried to mask the irritation in his voice, although it came out sounding like he was speaking to a two year-old. "May I throw this one away?"
"Oh. Ah, yes, you may."
He shuffled to the nearest trash bag and dumped the book inside.
"I'll, uh… I'll be in the attic." Hamilton grabbed the box as he rose to his feet and proceeded up the attic ladder.
Even after so many years, it still felt like nothing had really changed. When his wife was still alive, Hamilton was truly a happier person. Sure, he was still a joyous man to the day and could crack a smile, but something in him had changed. When she died that spring, a part of him had died with her and had yet to return.
On the other hand, his son had fared quite well in the future after that. Although his mother's death left him a sad and lonely child, the older he grew, the more he had learned to accept it. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't miss her from time to time, but he also recognized that death was just another factor of life. What got him through his days, in the past and present, was the fact that he'd always be a part of her, and her a part of him. And that was something that death could never steal.
Nowadays, the aspiring mayor was much stronger than the shattered boy he once was. No longer haunted by the persistent nightmares involving loss and sickness, he stood tall. He was the image of imminent authority; everyone saw to that and respected that.
Or at least he'd like to think so.
A lot of it was for his pride. And a lot of it was for the spring-cleaner in the attic. The man who, at times in the past, couldn't even bear to look at his own son because of his uncanny resemblance to the woman he loved. The man who he watched cry for days on end. The man who he was dying to hear the words, "I'm proud of you" from. The man who never seemed to show it.
The doorbell stirred him from his thoughts. Gill stared towards the sound, a puzzling expression playing into his handsome features. Who could that be? He stepped over piles of clutter to reach the door and discovered a younger, unfamiliar woman standing on the outside.
After an awkward stare down, she spoke first. "Hi."
Gill blinked. "Hello." He eyed the suitcase at her side. "Is there anything you need help with?"
"Yes, actually. I'm looking for the Mayor. The Town Hall was closed and a nice lady told me to come here. Is he home?" She nosily peeped into the room behind him.
Gill shifted so that he blocked her view. His cutting eyes sent a glare her way. "He's busy at the moment. I'm going to have to ask you to come back later." Just as the door was about to close, a hand from the outside stopped it. Okay, this girl was surprisingly strong.
"Wait, can I just talk to him for a few minutes? It's really important!"
Gill scowled through the crack in the door. The thin rectangular splash of light onto his face made his eyes glow with an azure fire. "I told you, he's busy. Now if you don't mind-"
"Gill Hamilton! You wouldn't be treating our newest rancher that way, now would you?"
His hold on the door immediately lessoned, causing it to swing back with such a force that it nearly dented the wall behind it. "Rancher? T-This is the new rancher you were mentioning?"
Impossible! She was in no condition to be a rancher! She was… soft. If she was truly a rancher, then her appearance was definitely misleading. Her short bob of auburn hair was thick and curled, and her amber doe-eyes were so naïve. She was tiny and scrawny, and most of all, she was in way over her head.
"Yeah, so a little respect would be nice," the rancher refuted from the threshold. Gill shot her a 'do you know who you're talking to?' kind of stare.
Hamilton took that as a cue to step in. "Gill, this is Molly Greene. You will be escorting her to her new home. Molly, this is my son, Gill."
"Hello, Ms. Greene, it's nice to meet you," he said, a phony smile plastered on his face.
"A pleasure," she sarcastically drawled. Oh yeah, he was going to have a blast with this girl.
"Well then, I believe that settles it. Welcome to Castanet," Hamilton concluded with a hearty grin. "If you need anything, feel free to stop by the Town Hall. When it's open, of course," he chimed.
"I won't forget," Molly replied, giggling. Goddess, even her laugh was irritating. "Let's go, Gill."
He walked, more like dragged himself, out of the door as he followed her lead. Jogging to her side, he decided to set some boundaries straight.
"Mr. Hamilton."
"Huh?"
"That is what you will call me by. From now on."
"Okay then."
The path they took led them straight into winding curves until they had reached the ranch. Upon arriving, Molly's expectant grin seeped into a small frown.
"Is there a problem, Ms. Greene?"
"It doesn't look anything like the brochure. It looks like crap, actually."
"Let me see it."
She dug into her pocket and yanked out a flashy brochure. Gill swiped it from her. His cerulean eyes saw the picture of a newly-renovated house, along with a barn and a chicken coop. Quite the opposite, indeed. In front of them was a worn-down home and the other two buildings were in similar conditions.
"I told my father to stop mailing these out ages ago… that man never listens sometimes," he mumbled to himself.
"Ah well, at least it can only get better now, right?"
"I suppose so."
"Good thing it's free then," she added.
Gill quirked an eyebrow. "Now, I don't know where you heard that. There is a 5000G fee that you have to pay."
She scoffed in disbelief, her tawny eyes fiery with passion. "Are you kidding me? For what? This piece of junk?"
"For the land," he answered sharply.
"6000G is all I brought with me," she pouted in realization. She slowly reached into her back pocket and brought up a white envelope, presumably her money. She dug through it and wrangled up the appropriate amount. "Here," she deadpanned, averting her eyes elsewhere.
"Thank you. I'd advise that you start working soon if you want to start making more money. And here." He handed her keys to the home. "The best of luck to you, Ms. Greene."
"Thanks," she mumbled after he was long gone, fumbling with unlocking the home.
Considering the outside appearance, the inside wasn't terrible. It had all of the necessities; a twin sized bed on the far right wall, a bathroom right next to it, a small kitchenette to the left, a bookshelf, dresser, phone, small television set, couch, and a dining table in the center. Nope, not too shabby.
As the reality of it all had settled in, she realized something; she was alone now. No more parents to tell her what to do. No more curfews. No more rules. She was free to do whatever she liked.
Her suitcase was thrown onto the bed and the door was left wide open.
The Brass Bar. It had a nice to ring to it. She had decided to do some exploring; it'd be good to get to know the people around town for obvious reasons. And judging from the faint chorus of voices and laughter and the rumble of music inside, here seemed like the perfect place to start.
She opened the door. The bell that hung from the ceiling above rang, indicating to everyone that someone had walked in. All eyes glanced to the sound, and most did double-takes. She sauntered her way through the smoky air, trying to avoid eye contact with the strangers but loving every second of the attention. Once she sat at a table in the dark corner, a blonde waitress approached her.
"Well you're a new face! Just visiting or…?"
"Nope. Just moved into the ranch outside of town."
The woman's face changed as if that were odd, but she still kept a wide smile. "Oh! What's your name?"
"It's Molly. Nice to mee-"
"Her name's Molly!" the blonde yelled over the noise in the bar. Chairs creaked as everyone diverted their attention. "And she's taking over the old ranch. Let's give her a big Castanet 'welcome'!" A choir of loud voices and raised glasses welcomed the slightly overwhelmed farmer. "Don't worry," she said as she turned back her way. "The people here are really friendly. My name's Kathy, by the way."
"Well Kathy, what's good here?" Molly smiled.
"Lemme get you a menu," Kathy chirped as she headed off elsewhere.
Molly's eyes scanned over the crowd for visual information when suddenly, the chair across from her screeched on the floor. Her eyes snapped across the table to find a pair of honey-golden eyes staring back.
"Hiya!" the blue-haired man cheered with a gallant grin. "Molly, was it? The name's Luke!" He offered a gloved hand, in which she shook. "So, you're a farmer, huh? I hear that's a pretty tough job!"
"It's not easy, but I've been doing it my whole life, so I guess you could say I'm used to it."
"Awesome! I work at the Carpentry shop with my Pops and my apprentice, Bo. That's the thing I've been doing my whole life."
"Carpentry?"
"Yup! I can build anything with wood. I'm also a very skilled axe-man, if I do say so myself." He settled into his chair while wearing a sly grin.
Molly found herself giggling aloud at this guy's silly antics. It was so painfully obvious that he was flirting with her. But it was cute. He was cute.
"Oh really?" she tagged along as she twirled a lock of auburn hair. "Maybe you could show me sometime."
His face lit up, and she couldn't help but notice the band-aid on his slightly crooked nose and the way it twitched when he smiled. "Y-Yeah, I'd be happy to!"
Later on that night, after getting to know some of the locals, Molly snuggled comfortably into her bed, thinking about how much she had fallen in love with Castanet and its residents. Well, most of them. Mr. Grumpy-Pants Gill certainly wasn't one of them, she knew, but for the most part, she was excited about her new life. Mom and Dad would definitely be proud.
The next morning, she decided to start her new ranch with a celebratory cup of coffee. Since it was her first time living out on her own, she didn't have much money, or belongings, for that matter, so a cup of coffee would have to do.
The farm was beautiful, she discovered, as she stared out of a window at the view. Sure, there were a few weeds here and there and the buildings were in crap condition, but the overall beauty of the environment around her was stunning. Her property sat on a hill, and in the distance she could see the faint shimmers of the ocean. The sun was in its early stages of rising, as the sky was a rosy pink color with touches of orange. The trees, with their light-green new leaves, gently swayed in the spring breeze. She was drawn to step outside.
Crunch.
She glimpsed down. A large bag was placed at her door. It was probably put there… overnight? The thought of someone sneaking to her house while she slept slightly creeped her out, but she picked it up nonetheless. A note from Gill, of all people,was stuck to it.
"To Ms. Greene," she read aloud. "It seems to me that your funds are running low. By my father's command, I went through the trouble of purchasing you some seeds to help get the farm running. But I ask you to please think nothing of it. It wouldn't be good for the tourists to see a hungry beggar in town. Much regards, Mr. Hamilton." She weighed the heavy bag in her before dropping it. "I'm not a charity run."
Hiya! I know this starts out as the usual HM Gill story; Farm Girl meets Prissy Boy, Farm Girl and Prissy Boy don't like each other, and honestly, I'm not the greatest at introductions, but I hope it sufficed. Let me know if ya want! And it gets better, trust me. This story is currently in the process of being revised (I just finished chapter 1) so my apologies if my updates lag a bit. I'm going to start chapter 2 soon. Thanks for reading! :)