Chapter 1: The Tricky Little Incentive
Mayor Thomas chuckled merrily to himself as he strode along the cobblestone path to alert the new villager of events. Today, he had to tell her of the Local Horse race. He was sure to be there bright 'n early, so he could catch her before she went about her usual chore. Lately, she had seen her heading to and from the beach's direction, and from the church and inn. Mayor Thomas really had no life; he had to look after everyone in the tiny town.
He entered the Ichigo property at about 5:50AM, waiting for about 10 minutes when the blonde-haired girl stepped through the door with a yawn. She jumped slightly with surprise, and asked politely,
"Yes, do you need anything?"
"The Local Horse race is at the square tomorrow." He smiled. "Too bad you don't have a horse, but it's still fun to bet on who will win."
"Oh, yeah, I knew that. It was on the news, and I have it marked on the calendar. 10'o clock at the square, yes? I'll see you there, Mayor Thomas." She smiled kindly and waved as the Mayor left in a hurry. She laughed at him, and then went about harvesting the turnips. Her first month was filled with those crops, in which she called starter crops. They grew fast and required little effort; she'd slowly build up her ability to farm the land.
-------
Meanwhile, Duke and Manna, owners of the local winery, were just picking themselves out of bed. Manna exercised her cooking ability, tempted three times to call one of the village women for advice. Duke sat and watched the morning news. Manna finally finished the scrambled eggs for both of them, sitting down with grape juice. As they ate, the conversation broke out as usual.
"…Its getting so hard to run the winery…" Duke sighed. Manna's shoulder's twitched a little.
"Especially around harvest time. If I could get our daughter Aja to come back for a little while, I might be able to convince her to stay." She sniffed. Duke patted her hand from across the table.
"You weren't able to convince her the first time, I don't think you will be able to if she comes back. She'll just push you and me away further. Maybe…we should look into selling-"
"Don't even think about that!" She shouted abruptly. "Not while I still live and breathe."
"Then we'll see what will happen. If Aja doesn't come home by fall, the harvest time, I'm going to hire some help. Maybe not permanent, but just someone to get us through the season."
Manna thought, biting her lip. Then slowly nodded, and they continued to eat breakfast. She was not in the mood to argue.
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Cliff was getting used to the monotony, making a trip to the church everyday. He felt isolated from things he loved. His family…they would never come back…But today, there stood the girl called Claire. She stood in front of the church-doors, her hands behind her back. She looked quite pronounced. Waiting there. For who, he wondered.
Gosh, I'm worse than the mayor... She thought to herself. As Cliff neared, she reached into her backpack and beheld a chicken's egg. He stopped and looked at it. Claire carefully put it into his hands.
"Thank you …" Cliff said, shocked. This, to Cliff, seemed like a charade. Some strange twisted trick. Claire smiled, pleased, and waved as she let him pass. Cliff just wobbled a little, and continued into the church.
Carter stared at him, following him from the doors of the church to the front pew, where he sat down. Cliff was in a self-aware state, he noticed Carter and decided to casually cover up his bafflement.
"Carter, I got a chicken egg. How do you suppose we should eat it?"
"Eh…" Carter stopped, averting his eyes for a moment. "I don't have a kitchen. Maybe you should take it to the hot springs…it makes deliciously boiled eggs in a matter of minutes."
"Spa-poached. Yeah, Ann suggested I try them sometime…" He pocketed the egg.
------
"Oh, smooth, Claire." She scolded herself. She was back at Mineral Beach, fishing off the pier again. "Never said a word…oh well, I hope he liked that egg. Maybe…it'll save him money…and…he can…stay…" She felt a shiver throw her off guard, and the fishing pole's line wavered in the twilight waters. "Why doesn't he have a job? I'm sure any of the local businesses would be glad to hire him…"
She felt a slight tug on the line, and jerked the pole in reaction. She realized she had caught a fish and reeled it in promptly. This fish was unusual; she'd never seen a brownish fish before. It looked to be a good size. Her thoughts of Cliff temporarily ceased, as she felt proud of the fish. She took the hook out of its mouth, and killed it quickly so it would stop flopping around. She looked at her fishing pole.
"Saibara told me he could upgrade these things." She said. "I'll have to ask him more in detail soon," She mumbled, leaving the beach again.
The women, Karen, watched her leave the beach. They had often run into each other, in the mornings, at the shop. Karen even once gave Claire a pack of grass-seeds, much to her father's dismay. Rick would often talk about how much he anticipated her buying a chicken. He said he felt lonely being the only one who raised poultry.
"She's only been here 17 days." She mused. "She already fits in this town like a sock into a shoe."
Mayor Thomas chuckled merrily to himself as he strode along the cobblestone path to alert the new villager of events. Today, he had to tell her of the Local Horse race. He was sure to be there bright 'n early, so he could catch her before she went about her usual chore. Lately, she had seen her heading to and from the beach's direction, and from the church and inn. Mayor Thomas really had no life; he had to look after everyone in the tiny town.
He entered the Ichigo property at about 5:50AM, waiting for about 10 minutes when the blonde-haired girl stepped through the door with a yawn. She jumped slightly with surprise, and asked politely,
"Yes, do you need anything?"
"The Local Horse race is at the square tomorrow." He smiled. "Too bad you don't have a horse, but it's still fun to bet on who will win."
"Oh, yeah, I knew that. It was on the news, and I have it marked on the calendar. 10'o clock at the square, yes? I'll see you there, Mayor Thomas." She smiled kindly and waved as the Mayor left in a hurry. She laughed at him, and then went about harvesting the turnips. Her first month was filled with those crops, in which she called starter crops. They grew fast and required little effort; she'd slowly build up her ability to farm the land.
-------
Meanwhile, Duke and Manna, owners of the local winery, were just picking themselves out of bed. Manna exercised her cooking ability, tempted three times to call one of the village women for advice. Duke sat and watched the morning news. Manna finally finished the scrambled eggs for both of them, sitting down with grape juice. As they ate, the conversation broke out as usual.
"…Its getting so hard to run the winery…" Duke sighed. Manna's shoulder's twitched a little.
"Especially around harvest time. If I could get our daughter Aja to come back for a little while, I might be able to convince her to stay." She sniffed. Duke patted her hand from across the table.
"You weren't able to convince her the first time, I don't think you will be able to if she comes back. She'll just push you and me away further. Maybe…we should look into selling-"
"Don't even think about that!" She shouted abruptly. "Not while I still live and breathe."
"Then we'll see what will happen. If Aja doesn't come home by fall, the harvest time, I'm going to hire some help. Maybe not permanent, but just someone to get us through the season."
Manna thought, biting her lip. Then slowly nodded, and they continued to eat breakfast. She was not in the mood to argue.
-------
Cliff was getting used to the monotony, making a trip to the church everyday. He felt isolated from things he loved. His family…they would never come back…But today, there stood the girl called Claire. She stood in front of the church-doors, her hands behind her back. She looked quite pronounced. Waiting there. For who, he wondered.
Gosh, I'm worse than the mayor... She thought to herself. As Cliff neared, she reached into her backpack and beheld a chicken's egg. He stopped and looked at it. Claire carefully put it into his hands.
"Thank you …" Cliff said, shocked. This, to Cliff, seemed like a charade. Some strange twisted trick. Claire smiled, pleased, and waved as she let him pass. Cliff just wobbled a little, and continued into the church.
Carter stared at him, following him from the doors of the church to the front pew, where he sat down. Cliff was in a self-aware state, he noticed Carter and decided to casually cover up his bafflement.
"Carter, I got a chicken egg. How do you suppose we should eat it?"
"Eh…" Carter stopped, averting his eyes for a moment. "I don't have a kitchen. Maybe you should take it to the hot springs…it makes deliciously boiled eggs in a matter of minutes."
"Spa-poached. Yeah, Ann suggested I try them sometime…" He pocketed the egg.
------
"Oh, smooth, Claire." She scolded herself. She was back at Mineral Beach, fishing off the pier again. "Never said a word…oh well, I hope he liked that egg. Maybe…it'll save him money…and…he can…stay…" She felt a shiver throw her off guard, and the fishing pole's line wavered in the twilight waters. "Why doesn't he have a job? I'm sure any of the local businesses would be glad to hire him…"
She felt a slight tug on the line, and jerked the pole in reaction. She realized she had caught a fish and reeled it in promptly. This fish was unusual; she'd never seen a brownish fish before. It looked to be a good size. Her thoughts of Cliff temporarily ceased, as she felt proud of the fish. She took the hook out of its mouth, and killed it quickly so it would stop flopping around. She looked at her fishing pole.
"Saibara told me he could upgrade these things." She said. "I'll have to ask him more in detail soon," She mumbled, leaving the beach again.
The women, Karen, watched her leave the beach. They had often run into each other, in the mornings, at the shop. Karen even once gave Claire a pack of grass-seeds, much to her father's dismay. Rick would often talk about how much he anticipated her buying a chicken. He said he felt lonely being the only one who raised poultry.
"She's only been here 17 days." She mused. "She already fits in this town like a sock into a shoe."