Chapter three: Stuff and Thing
I don't know how, but somehow early in the morning I just opened my eyes, and I was awake. Well before my alarm was supposed to go off, I was already showered and out the door. I watered the planets, fed myself, and set the fodder out for ffutS all before the sun has peaked. Then I went back into the see if ffutS was awake yet, seeing she was I gave her a good morning pat on the head, then went down to milk her. Then I went over to check on the storage shed. Takakura had left the money I got from my milk, and I put all the milk I currently had in my sac in to be sold today, hopefully Takakura would be bringing me my hen today- which reminded me as I thought of this- and quickly ordered some bird feed to boot.
I wonder what's going on in town? Shrugging I decided to find out…
"Morning Tim," I told him as I came up to the inn.
"Morning- Doom was it," he winked, "heard you talk to Nami last night, called her a 'flaming angel' was it?" He laughed heartily and I felt myself turn a few hues of crimson.
"Ah… yeah," I looked down, and under my breath added, "well, to me at least."
He obviously heard, as he started laughing again…
"I don't see the humor in it, I happen to think she- well… I like her anyway…"
"I don't mean any harm of course, but I might warn you, Nami's not known to be the most sociable in town, I don't mean to pry, but to suggest you be more careful when it comes to Nami. 'Course actually, she's an outsider too, been here longer than you of course, but only by a year, I hear she used to wonder the world before she came here."
I took a moment to think on that one. "Would it be prying of me to inquire where I might find her?"
"Nami? Well, she stays at the inn upstairs- no guarantee she's up yet, pro'lly another half hour 'fore she's ready to leave."
"But where does she go?"
"Dunno, she just wonders around I guess?"
"Well, ah… thanks."
Just what I need, overnight the whole bloody town must know about my 'flaming angel' comment… Sighing, I slipped out of sight first. No disrespect to Tim, I just figure he already knows more then I want him too. Slipping into the Inn from a different direction, I headed upstairs. "Which door- which door…"
I hesitated for a moment in thought. "Well, if this were a game or a story, I'd go left 'cause left is sinister… but I don't want sinister, so I think I'll go right."
But as luck would have it, the moment I reached to knock on the door, it swung open with such a force it knocked me upside the head and off my feet, scattering some papers I'd been keeping in my bag.
"What the- What was- OH shit I'm sorry!"
Leaning my head slightly to one side, I hoped that would make the second Nami slide back into the first. I don't even think both my eyes were looking at the same thing. Reaching over I covered half my face- the side the door had hit, and covered one eye. After a second I was at least seeing strait again.
"I'd say good morning but I'd be lying," I managed to joke.
"What were you doing coming up to my room at this time of morning," she thought to ask, once it was clear I wasn't bleeding anywhere.
Taking my hand away from my face I had to blink a couple times before my other eye worked right. "A little birdie told me I might catch you before you started wondering around town."
"Like the ones I imagine are floating around you're head this minute?"
"No, these birdies are black and blue, like my face might be in a day or so, the birdie who told me where I might catch you was in the metaphorical sense obviously."
It was a poor man's joke, and it got the poor response I'd hoped. Nami's expression was that of discovering manure on her boot. I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my face. "What's so funny?"
"Your reaction, no more than I expected, but then, that's why I said it."
Nami gave a little huff as she turned away from me, her eyes finally glancing at the papers as I worked my way to my knees at least. "So what are these?"
"Check a few of 'em out if you like- it's what I did with my time back in the city."
Nami went down to pick one up and looked at it suspiciously. From the back of the paper I could just make out what was written on its front, a little poem I had turned into a song less then a month before I got here:
Unto the Breech
Where Devils may cry.
Where life's a bitch,
And time will fly.
Onto the beach
Where Devils may lie,
They're here to teach
And we're here to die.
Within my reach
Are the Devils who cry,
To them I beseech
As I wither and wry.
His own to each
And the Devils who cry.
I'm only in reach
To say goodbye.
Devils…
Devils who Lie
Devils who Teach
Devils who Cry
Onto the Breech
Where Devils may cry.
This life's a bitch,
And then you die.
Unto the beach
Where Devils- they lie.
The lessons they teach,
Make you wonder why.
Making a speech
To the Devils who lie,
"You're like a leech,
Sucking me Dry."
In Wanton they screech,
Those Devils who cry.
The chaos that wreaks
As I sit here and die.
Devils…
Devils who Lie
Devils who Teach
Devils who Cry
Return to the breech
With the Devils who cry.
My soul to reach,
Be it low or high.
The stars of the beach
Bare the Devils who lie.
This life won't teach
The lessons of why.
For me you reach,
It's here I lie.
To me you preach
Of souls up high.
But on the beach
With the Devils who lie,
My heart they reach
Those Devils who cry.
I sang it quietly to her, most like the first of the two times prior I've sang it, when my small audience had been overtaken by the words, Nami was no less affected by the haunting notes. My voice wasn't perfect, but good enough to do justice to the melody in her hands. Nami was completely silent for over a minute, I refused to break the silence myself, it wasn't my nature to force a critique, but if I had to guess, I'd say she likes it.
"May I keep this," she asked at last.
"If it would make you smile, just once," I had other copies, as I did with most of my works, so I could show them to friends and still continue to work on them.
To my pleasant surprise, she did just that, as she gave me a weak, but sincere smile. I wasn't the only person to see this smile though, because as she smiled, Ruby came walking up the stairs to investigate why such a loud noise had been followed by such near silence. She stopped almost dead in her tracks when she saw Nami smile. She stood in place for a moment, before we all noticed each other.
"Oh my, what a mess," Ruby said at last, noticing the scattered papers at last.
By the time I got all my papers back into my back the sun was well into the sky, I needed to get back as give some more water to the crops and check back with ffutS, also, see if Takakura was back yet…
After watering my crops I noticed the first signs from the Tomatoes that they were spouting. The first bits of green were poking through the soil. I stopped off in my room to grab another copy of the song I'd given Nami, to make sure I had more than one with me. As I came out, I saw a flash of red hair duck behind a tree.
Curiosity overwhelming me, I went to investigate, and found Nami just behind a big tree, "Afternoon, enjoying the shade, or did'ja come to check me out?"
"I-" Nami paused to consider for a moment, "Shouldn't you be working?"
"As a matter of fact, probably- scratch that, defiantly, just saw Takakura with my new hen, well, feel free to nose about, got nothin' to hide- that I can think of anyway," I chuckled as I turned towards Takakura, who obviously had spotted me as well.
"Ah, Jack- … Doom, I've got you the hen you've ordered, and you're lucky I didn't leave before checking again and catching the order for birdseed."
As Takakura and I head for the chicken coop, I catch a glance of Nami wandering about, peering in the stable, and sneaking into my room. She probably even found my diary; have to give hers a peek when I can.
"Well, you'll need a name I expect for your new hen."
I took a moment to think, remembering the name I gave ffutS, "gnihT."
"ngit?"
"gnihT, like gnaw, and it, with a silent 'h' between."
"Thing backwards," he said, understanding this time. I smiled at him, and he just gave me a look of acknowledgement, and moved on. I went over to gnihT, and picked her up for a moment. She seemed content enough…
"Well, lemme be back with some food, heh."
I fetched the birdseed quick enough and spread it over the ground, then rushed to ffutS to see if she was ready to give some more milk. I noticed the sun past its peak, guessing it had to be about two. "Well, gnihT needs a mate… then-… Hmm, city, digging… flirting…… Hmm."
I decided to fill out the form to order a rooster while I was deciding what to do with the rest of the evening. In the end, I decided that in just the last two days I'd been running every which way from the moment my head lifted from the pillow until it hit it again in the evening. This afternoon was a time to be alone, to work on things like the song Nami saw earlier. So just before sitting down to the desk, I went to switch out the record in the player, having heard it two strait days, had the song memorized by now. Then I sat down to write for the afternoon, and come evening I set it aside and took out my diary…
/Hey hey Diary,
I saw Nami this morning, I even sang her one of my songs, and I have the distinct impression she liked it, wink. Took her breath away from the sight of her. Anyway, at least I seem to be doing well to get her to talk to me. She came over to the farm this afternoon, and I think she may have peeked at my diary, well, fair is fair, and whatnot, heh. Lucky for me I'm as decent as I come off.
Well, Takakura brought me the hen I ordered, and tomorrow I should pick up a rooster- eliminating ANY chance of sleeping past dawn, xD.
It was nice to recoil for a night, I've been surrounded by people since before I got here, and it just keeps going, taking an evening to myself should leave me calmer than I've been in months- Sometimes I miss the city though- I miss being social honestly, and not having any kind of big socials- to my knowledge anyway- kills that sort of thing- yet, I'm glad to be away, less people to escape when I want my personal space…
Oh well- maybe I should describe myself for the next snoop to peek at this pup?
Tomorrow I guess-
Night…
GK: an FYI to readers, the poem, Devils Who Cry, is indeed a poem I worked into a song, it was originally just four stanzas and called Devils, then I expanded it to 16 and a chorus. And I really did impress the daylights out of my college creative writing class even though my voice isn't that spectacular. Although the game has nothing to do with my life, that poem was a piece borrowed from my reality, now please everyone, PLEASE… ;.; Read and Review…