The first time I met Fritz I was eating breakfast with Eda. It was the first week I was here, and my farm was still being prepared, so my days were spent working on Eda's farm to learn what to do on my own. On this morning in particular, I was eating a plate of toast and fresh scrambled eggs at the kitchen table. There was a knock on the door, and before she had the chance to answer it Fritz came bounding in with his dirt-smeared face and too-bright smile.

"Hey, Granny!" He slid his mud-caked boots off and dropped them on the tray beside the house like he had made this entrance a million times. "Need any help? I finished up my work early today."

Eda's face lit up when she saw him. I had assumed they were related—until she explained him later on that night. "Good morning, dear," she cooed. "How sweet, to stop by and help out an old lady."

"Oh, you know I couldn't let you run this whole thing yourself." He looked over at me then, his eyebrow cocking and his smile never wavering. "Oh hey. New face."

Eda introduced us quickly: explaining that I was taking over the farm next door and that I was living here in the meantime. She told me that Fritz lived at one of the farms at the base of the mountain, and came here every few days to help her out.

Through this entire introduction, Fritz still beamed, and in the two seasons I had known him he had never wiped that look off of her face. "Well, Annie," he said to me then. "It's great to meet you. Any friend of Eda is a friend of mine."

"Speaking of which," Eda added quickly. I hadn't gotten a chance to speak yet. I wondered if they would ever let me. "I'm glad you stopped by, Fritz. I was thinking about this last night. It would make me really happy to see the two of you become close friends. If you wouldn't mind doing an old lady a favor."

It was blunt, and out of nowhere, and I didn't really know how to respond to that. Luckily, Fritz did it for the both of us. "Of course, Granny! What do you say, best friend? Want to help me gather the eggs this morning?"

Again, before I could respond, Eda spoke for me. "Oh don't you worry about it, you two. Annie, why don't you take the day off? The two of you go out and explore. Fritz, maybe you can take Annie on a tour of town."

I hadn't been to town since my first day there. Veronica met me at the Trade Depot with a warm smile and a head full of important things she needed to tell me. It was hard to keep it all straight: this is the Guild where you can find the clinic, the restaurant is open six days a week but closed on Wednesdays, that direction is more homes and shops (all of which I had forgotten by now). So I liked the idea of getting a proper, less dizzying tour. But I had gotten so accustom to life with Eda—the slow, easy conversations, the frenzy-free days. This kid seemed like the exact opposite of that.

Fritz gave her a thumbs-up; with a grin that caught the light shining through the window long enough for me to see one of his front teeth had a tiny chip in it. "You got it!" To me he added, "Come on, Annie, let's get moving. There's a lot of town to see, and the walk is prettiest in the morning."

If I'm being honest, part of the reason I was avoiding going back into town was the uphill trek, but it was a lot nicer to stroll through the forest downhill. There were lots of different breaks in the path, but Fritz knew exactly which one to follow. On the way down he shared openly his life story: he moved here a few years ago with a similar mindset as me. He was wandering through life and wanted to find a real one, so he took up farming and while he was still new to it he liked spending all of his time outside.

Fritz beamed when he talked. It wasn't just the farming either, he did it when he talked about almost everything. It was the first thing I picked up on with him—that and the fact that he didn't like silence and filled it with just about any story he could think of. As we walked through the grain field, where the rice paddies and wheat field sat side-by-side, he was going deep into detail on where to find the best fishing spots in town.

"So the one behind the wheat field there is great," Fritz said as we walked out into another open field with a stone bridge to the right. "But the spot at Eda's is the best. It's like a little-known secret. No one ever cares enough to make the trek up there so it leaves more fish for the rest of us."

A sparrow flew past us quickly, landing with a flutter on a tree across the way. I gasped, and stepped back, my cheeks red from embarrassment when I realized it was just a little bird that had caught me so off guard. "Jesus," I whispered.

"Aw, don't be scared of that little guy!" Fritz chimed. Then, as he pulled me by the wrist to the tree where he had landed, he added, "Here, animals love me. It'll be your first real introduction in town." I offered him a pity laugh, as I assumed it had been a joke.

"I don't think love is quite the word."

The tall, thin man had been watching us from the bridge. In the distance I could see another farm sign, made of stone and iron and a lot nicer looking than the one immediately to the left of it. He had peach colored hair and a narrow, pointed face. His nose turned up in a way that made it seem like that was both a physical and metaphorical trait, and a smug smile played on his lips when he spoke.

"I would say the more correct word would be tolerate. On a good day."

Beside me, I glanced at Fritz to get a hint of whether or not this was playful banter or just a rude conversation. I was still getting the rude vibe, but Fritz seemed unfazed.

"Aw, come on, Giorgio, that's not fair. I'm great with animals."

Giorgio smirked again, a hand placed firmly on his hip. "Sure, Fritz, whatever you say. What are you doing here anyway? Should you be watering those turnips? They're looking a little dry."

Fritz hopped over to where he stood, motioning for me to follow. "I'm showing Annie here around town. Trying to make her feel more at home, you know? There's a lot to get used to in this place!"

Giorgio looked over at me, as I walked up behind Fritz, offering me a limp hand to shake and flashing me a too-bright smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Annie. Do you go by Annie? Maybe Anne? You look like you could be an Anne."

"Annie is fine," I piped up. I figured it wasn't worth mentioning I hated being called Anne. "It's nice to meet you."

"So you're the new farmer then? The taking on that run-down old shack by Lady Eda's house?" The Lady made me cringe. It was almost insulting.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah that's me." I glanced at Fritz again, but he was still looking at Giorgio like he was a perfectly normal human and this was a perfectly friendly conversation. "It should be ready in a day or two."

"Well." He barely let me finish my sentences. I was getting pretty sick of that. "If you need any advice I live right over the bridge to the right—Rosewood Farms is the name—and I'm always happy to offer my experience to the younger generation."

"Right," I said curtly. "Thanks."

With a lazy wave of his hand, Giorgio wandered over to the path we had just come from, mentioning something about harvesting his wheat crop and saying farewell.

"Is that how he normally acts?" I asked as Fritz started back toward the entrance to town.

"Who, Giorgio? Yeah he's eccentric. Great guy though! I love living next to him. There's a lot to learn from him."

Out loud I agreed, but inside I scoffed.

The rest of the day was spent in a second swirl of introductions. Fritz marched me around town; introducing me to everyone we saw on the street and pushing open the doors of the people who spent their days in a shop. I met the Antique dealer and his Novelist sister, the grumbling old carpenter and his beautiful young wife, the town doctor and Veronica's daughter the nurse—all people that I was sure I had met before, but were kind enough to pretend they had forgotten my name as well. Fritz spoke quickly and I struggled to keep up with all of his bullet points.

- The general store is closed on Sundays so make sure you check your feed boxes on Saturday

- If you get the chance to rent a public field, talk to Veronica about it she's your gal

- If you get hungry and have some cash to spare, Raeger's place is the best food in town

- Occasionally, we'll have vendors at the town square trading goods and whatnot so make sure to check that out daily

Aside from the speed talking, Fritz was an easygoing guy. Maybe that's why we became friends as quickly as we did. At first, his talking was annoying and head-splitting, but by the time that I was settled into my own place, it almost felt like home. Now, he'd visit every few days. We'd walk into town, check out the visiting booths, and get a bite to eat. He may have been my only real friend in town, but he was a good one, and I liked spending time with him.