New story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon and its characters...

1st Chapter
Boy meets Girl

Spring, where flowers starts to bloom again and where a girl with blonde hair is bored in her apartment.

That girl lives by herself and she only have few friends to talk with, but it's just enough for her. The only problem is that she's tired of her life in the city.

One day, after she went home from her work, the blonde girl saw something interesting in the newspaper, an advertisement. Her eyes glowed as she read the texts imprinted on it.

'Tired of your current life?'
'Want something for a change?'
'Well, don't hesitate and do some farming!'
'If interested call this number...'

Her mind started to create a picture of the farm that was shown in the picture in the newspaper, of the things that she is intend to do in that farm. Taking care of her livestock, harvesting her crops, playing with her little dog in her free time and having a well deserve rest by lying down on the grass as she wait for the sky to be decorated with twinkling stars.

The girl didn't hesitate, she immediately picked up her telephone and called. Not soon after she punched in the numbers, she was told that she got the farm. This made her smile. The man from the other line asked her when she will go there.

"Tomorrow!" she replied quickly with pure excitement in her.

The man laughed and told her that there will be someone to pick her up in the harbor tomorrow after dawn. After putting down the receiver, she quickly packed her belongings and went to her landlady to tell her that she won't be staying in her apartment anymore starting tomorrow. The girl went back to her room to turn in for tomorrow.

Excitement overwhelmed her. She can't sleep. Whenever she tries to, her mind flashed her of the same images she saw earlier as her eyes read the ad on the newspaper. It forced her to prepare early than she had planned and finally left her cramped apartment even before dawn strikes.

At the horizon she saw an approaching boat, the girl knew that it's the ride she was waiting for. The boat stopped and the boatman saw her, he waved his hand to the girl which she replied with the same gesture.

"Are you the one who bought the farm?" he asked. The girl nodded and smiled but the boatman is not satisfied with the nod she gave him as an answer. "Are you serious?"

His reply confused her. The man in front of her has a worried expression as he question her. She shrugged it off and just nodded furiously. She boarded the boat after her small talk with the boatman. The sound of the horn of the boat echoed throughout the pier, telling its departure.

Goodbye City! Hello Mineral Town!

It's the girl's first time to be on a boat and her first to be away from the city. She smiled as she smell the scent of the sea, the dog with her barked with happiness. It's just like it's telling her that it want a new atmosphere, it doesn't want to be in a city forever. The very same sentiments the girl have. The girl pats her dog and looked the ocean again.

Today is the new tomorrow.

The boat slowly stopped at the shore of the beach, the boat's horn has been sounded again, telling its arrival to the town. The girl got off the boat and the boatman told her the direction to the farm. She carried her belongings and whistled her dog to follow her. The girl was astonished by the beauty of the town. The flowers are blooming, the branches of the trees are swaying with the wind and there are flower petals everywhere. Every step she took felt like she was Cloud 9. She never felt amazed in her life. It was like a dream come true.

Not until she finally saw it.

The farm that she wanted to see ever since yesterday but that entire happy image faded when she saw its horrible state today. It finally dawned to her why that boatman from earlier was so uncertain by her own decision.

Weeds scattered throughout the fields, tree stumps are still there and rocks, either small or big is everywhere and the house is small. It is so much different on what she imagined and what she saw on the newspaper.

Her dreams are now crashed, all she could do now is to sank on the ground and sob on the folly she just made. The girl regretted on believing what the advertisement said. She was too desperate. She have long desired to break her monotonous and boring life in the city. She didn't even doubt the advertisement she saw. It was too late.

She can't go back now. All of her money was spent to buy the rundown farm she's seeing right now. She already handed over her keys to her landlady and even quitted her job as a waitress at a themed cafe. All is lost now just to pursue a stupid dream.

A short man with a red top hat approached her. He introduced himself as the mayor of the town. He asked the girl if she's the one who bought the farm. All she could was nod to answer his question. Her mouth refuse to let out any single sound because of her frustration.

What she heard next made her feel bad more.

"Hah! You have been fooled! I can't really believe that you fell for that advertisement!" he said while laughing to his heart content.

She looked at the diminutive old man in shock. Overcame by rage and irritation, the girl called her dog to get the short man.

The dog growled and barked at the mayor. He cowered in fear and instantly regretted the words he said. He started running and her dog started to chase the mayor.

How dare he, she thought to herself. The girl had expected for the man to have an ounce of sympathy for conning her of her life savings to buy such rundown and eyesore of a farm and crashing a young woman's dream of peaceful rural life.

She watched in irk as two of them ran in circles at the farm. The mayor cried as he pleaded for the girl to tell her dog to stop. The girl hesitated for a while but she decided to call her to stop.

The mayor apologized to her for making fun of her. He didn't expect that someone would fell for a cheap and deceiving advertisement. He was also sorry that it made her quit her job and leave the city. She couldn't help but to let out a disappointed sigh.

"What's the point...? I lost all of my money already..." she muttered under her exhausted breath.

The mayor felt really bad as soon as he saw the girl's dejected expression that is evident on her face as her eyes scanned the farm. It was at that moment that an idea suddenly popped up in the mayor's mind.

"Why don't you restore this farm to its former beauty?"

The girl looked at the mayor with wide eyes. She was surprised with the mayor's suggestion. He told the girl that she doesn't have to worry about the money she going to use to buy for the seeds, the mayor's going to care that. It was the least he could do to help her back on her feet.

"B-but! I don't know a thing how to run a farm! I only know is to plant and water plants but other than that! None!"

The mayor told her that not to worry about that too. He remembered that there are books about farming at the nearby library that she could read in order to learn a thing or two. Including the books about farming, she could also ask the people around the town for tips regarding on farming and at the same time, she be friends with them.

The girl is still hesitating. She never expected that she has to do everything from scratch. Her eyes drifted to the view of the farm again. The way it was unkept for years terrified her. For the first time in her life, her confidence wavered. She started to doubt her skills.

It was too much to bear, she said in her head.

She was then reminded again that she has no where to go back anymore after making such a foolish choice. She sighed again. Having no choice, the girl agreed to the end. This is her last resort. To run and restore the rundown farm she bought.

She went inside the house. The girl was surprised, it may be small outside but it's large in the inside. She's even surprised how cozy it is. At least the house cheered her up. She looked around.

There's a television, a bed, a cushion, a table, a chest for her other belongings and a bookshelf. She placed all of her bag beside the chest. Having the necessary furnitures were a saving a grace for her. She didn't have to worry sleeping on the cold hard floor.

While placing her bags aside, a knock on her door sounded. She immediately opened the door and the girl saw the mayor again. He told her that she should greet the people around the town. People already caught wind of the news.

Someone bought the run down farm.

The frustration she felt earlier immediately disappeared as soon as she went out her farm. The first building that she saw was the Blacksmith's. The girl went in the establishment with a smile, excited to meet new people but two booming voice made stop. To her, it sounded like they are arguing. She peeked at door to confirm it.

They really are arguing.

An elderly man was screaming some words at the other person, an orange-haired young who's wearing a blue hat. Both of them were fighting with each other, not caring if there is someone is listening at them.

She suddenly regretted coming in there.

The girl felt that it's like she's eavesdropping on them, she turned her heels and started to walk away but the old blacksmith noticed her almost immediately. Her body froze as the old blacksmith called her. His voice was so deep, deep enough to scare her. Not to mention he sounded so angry. The old man called her again but she's too afraid to look at him, scared that he might hit her because she was eavesdropping on them.

"Girl, why don't you turn around and talk?" the old blacksmith asked.

"Maybe because you're scaring?" the young blacksmith complained.

The old man realized how frightening the tone of his voice is. The once angry voice was now replaced with a hearty laughter. Somehow, this made the girl to turn around to finally face the two men and showing them a nervous smile.

"Are you perhaps the new farmer?" the old blacksmith asked with a smile. The girl nodded and the old man chuckled but the young man with him was surprised. "What? The new farmer is a... girl?" he questioned the girl with suspicion.

The girl couldn't help but to be offended by his question. She looked at him with a blank expression. She didn't want to answer his insulting question. The old blacksmith yelled some sense to him and apologized to her. She just smiled, telling the old man that it's alright. The girl looked at the young blacksmith again, he averted his gaze from her.

"My name is Saibara, and that stubborn young man is my hard-headed grandson, Gray."

He stretched out his hand, offering a hand shake to the girl which she gladly took. "I am Claire... Nice to meet you Mr. Saibara, sir." she introduced herself with a warm smile.

Saibara, the old blacksmith, yelled at his grandson to introduce himself properly. He snorted and stood up and walked in front of Claire, looking down at her.

"I'm Gray."

The young man towered over the girl.

He's so tall, she said in her head.

The girl reflexively looked on the ground and gulped quietly as the young blacksmith continued on looking down at her. He outstretched his hand and introduced himself but the girl didn't lift her head and remained looking at the floor. The young blacksmith tapped his shoes repeatedly, showing his irritation with the blonde in front of him. Wanting to avoid any conflict, she outstretched her hand and shook his hand.

Gray clicked his tongue and went back to his work bench. Saibara shook his head, showing his disappointment in his grandson.

A good way to make a stupid impression... Nice.

The old man apologized at Claire again and told her the purpose of his humble establishment. After his explanation, the girl bowed and bid a farewell to the old blacksmith and to the young one too, who was sitting at the back of the shop.

To relieve the tension she just experienced, she inhaled for fresh air. They were the first ones she met, beside the mayor, and it was already intense for her. It made her rethink her decision of wanting to meet the other inhabitants. She was already exhausted.

Her tired gaze directed to the sky. Has the sky always been this clear? She started to wonder in her head.

The girl patted her cheeks lightly with her palms, her resolve now renewed.

Today will be a long day.

Edited

Date of Revision: 12/12/20