The Beginning con.
The first introduction was held at the Inner Inn. Takakura mumbled that it was here that my father bested my mother so many years ago as we walked up to meet the owner and his family. The innkeeper's name was Tim and he was a round man with a round face, sparse mustache,and wore a red fez on his head. His wife Ruby, who he boasted was the best chef in town, was short with a round face like her husband and had small bright eyes. Last was his son Rock who helped maintain the inn. He was a fun loving young man of fashion with a full head of bleached blonde hair and had his mother's bright eyes. The question did arise at this time as to what people should address me as. I replied that my name would suffice, and that it was Kay. Also Takakura was very sure that there was a girl named Nami staying at the Inn. Tim confirmed this before we said our goodbyes moving on to the next residency on the other side of the street.
Next to meet was Galen and his wife Nina. The elderly couple lived in a small home comfortably and close to the town's amenities. They briefly mentioned a Doctor Hardy should be coming by soon to check on Nina as she had been feeling weaker this year than in the previous. We walked down the street to see a woman in a pink plaid suit skirt combo cheering on what appeared to be a very athletic father and son preparing for a marathon by a well on the other side of the street. The father figure's name was Wally and he looked as if he could outrun a horse. He introduced his wife Chris in the pink suit and his son Hugh beside him still stretching his legs in preparation.
To the left of the well where the father and son were stretching was the Blue Bar. The owner of the bar Griffin came out to welcome me with his daughter, Muffy. Griffin was a tall man in fine work clothes and beautiful boots. His daughter, who winked and smiled at me as she was introduced, was quite the beauty with long wavy golden hair, lovely features, and gorgeous blue eyes. She wore a shapely red dress and black heels, a warm blue jacket and a headband for her golden mane. Griffin served the best drinks in town according to Takakura and Muffy worked as the bar's waitress.
Takakura and I continued the introductions, following the main streets cobblestone up a hill to the Villa. Takakura explained that the Villa was home to the oldest and richest family in the valley, still present and active in the community. The estate itself was the grandest house I have ever seen and the gardens surrounding it were fit for a palace. Bushes and trees in lovely shapes, flowers lining the stone paths, and a large fountain in the center of the garden. I was delighted to learn that the Villa's ornate gates are always open to the town so that anyone at any time may enjoy the beautiful garden. Outside the Villa we were presented to Romana, heiress to the Villa, her white haired manservant Sebastian, and finally her granddaughter and ward to the estate, Lumina. Romana was a distinguished older woman with a discerning eye while her manservant Sebastian stood by her at attention waiting for her next word. Lumina was a lovely young woman with honey brown hair wearing a white blouse with a large orange bow collar, blue denim pants, and a light green headband. She bowed as she was introduced, and was the picture of calm serenity in the beautiful garden.
Takakura and I then said farewell to the Villa and its residents to continue with introductions. We walked down the hill from the Villa and through town again. We crossed the bridge together and came to the farm I first saw as I entered Forget-Me-Not Valley earlier that day. In the fields ahead I could see three people tending to the crops and setting up more mounds for more planting. We approached the fence that guarded the fields and two of the three individuals came to greet us. One was a large woman with a big voice wearing gloves and a bright veggie apron named Vesta. She ran the farm with her skinny black haired brother Marlin who remained closed lipped through the introduction. Catching up from behind them to be introduced was their farmhand Celia. Celia's fashion sense was older but exemplified her large brown eyes, as she wore a green work shirt, and a long green petticoat, a dirty apron, and a yellow bandanna for her long shining brown hair. She smiled and bowed as a bead of sweat rolled down her blushing smudged face.
Takakura informed me as we said goodbye that if I ever needed seeds I could buy them from Vesta. Takakura and I walked to the bridge and looked out to the land east of the main town. He said there were people living in these areas as well forging their own destinies. There were twin brothers who made fireworks together, an artist who worked with metal, a man who conducted experiments daily, and a guy who played guitar all day. He concluded that they were all weird. Still, I remembered Takakura mentioning before that he was not a very social man in any way. Takakura then faced west looking up stream pointing next to a mighty waterfall. He said that there by the waterfall a professor and his assistant had set up tents for digging, what they were digging up was unknown to him.
Takakura led us back to my new home and told me to rest for today after everything that has happened. He also said if I had any questions I should not hesitate to ask and that he was happy to help any way he could. He also mentioned that in the cabin was a bookcase filled with my fathers old books on farming. He said I should study these whenever I could as they possibly had information vital to making the farm successful. He bid me goodnight, turned around and walked to his own cabin. I was just about to do the same as I heard three small voices from behind me asking 'who's that?', 'who's this?', and 'you're a harvest sprite right?'. I looked down and saw what I could only fathom were actual harvest sprites in front of my cabin, one dressed in red, one in yellow, and one in blue. Harvest sprites are said to come into this world when a harvest goddess blesses the land with all her power. The harvest sprites then guard the goddess, her lands, and those she blesses. I crouched down to meet their eyes and they asked again what my name was as the valley's newest harvest sprite, according to them. They then introduced themselves, the red one was Nik, the blue one was Nak, and the yellow one was Flak. The harvest sprites were very happy to see me as they welcomed me to the valley and I was happy to see them, thinking perhaps that I had been blessed but this was only the beginning.
