Chapter 2

The week had not been kind to Jack. He sat somberly at his stunted coffee table, rubbing a stiff neck and trying to get the grimy images of the past seven days off of his mind. Images of rain and cow dung and fodder, scrapes and blisters and bruises… each lay siege upon his mind, threatening to consume him with exhaustion and disgust. Above all though, was the dirt.

The dirt- the scent, the taste, the feel- could not be vanquished from his brain. The dirt had quickly become Jack's most despised enemy, and the man now thought of it as such. It clung, nagging, to his skin after only a few hours of work each day, and remained throughout the day. It crept stealthily into his boots and into his clothes, it wedged itself stubbornly beneath his fingernails, it seemed to gravitate into his eyes. It was mud, it was soil, it was sand, and it was everywhere. Jack did not feel as if a shower a day was enough to keep the battle evened, but one shower a day was all that was allowed of him. He was no longer immersed in the now-sweet confines of the city- his water was from the well, and it was all that he had.

The seasonal rains had run dry the day after he arrived, and in terms of weather, the valley had witnessed quite a prosperous week. Foliage in and around the basin seemed to change color overnight- by Tuesday the ground had gone from mossy, muddy bottle green to bright, livid green, and flowers introduced themselves to the outside world. One could practically taste the excitement in the breeze as villagers bustled about, blinded by spring fever.

The farmer, of course, had no time for such leisure. Thanks to the abundance of chores required daily, the finer things in life seemed to slip right through Jack's fingers. He heard the birds call, but did not halt his plowing to seek their location; he heard the children laughing near the entrance to the farm, but could not call out to them or join their games for fear of losing precious daylight. Time around the farm seemed to lose interest in the farmer, and Jack fought to lose interest in anything but his labor until the place was back on its feet again.

Rising stiffly from the table, Jack peered out the window at the fading light, and the flicker of streetlights brought a morose feeling to his heart.

"I must be the loneliest person in this entire valley," he sighed heavily.

He was not so outstanding as he believed. A distance off, in an upper story room in the nearby hotel, the girl called Nami stood before her own window, and their thoughts were strikingly similar. The glass in front of her face fogged up as her restless eyes combed the village streets below. She watched the shadows, giving them movement and occupying herself with her imagination.

The valley had been her home for the past few months, and her welcome had not worn itself out- the people seemed hospitable and completely willing to make her feel at home. All the same, she grew restive, eager to travel. She rarely ever stayed in one place this long. The old feeling was back, running through her veins, flooding her thoughts. She yearned to disappear, as she had done many times before. She traveled for many reasons, not the least of which being the suddenness of leaving a location. The thrill of packing up and leaving before the day began; slipping out without a hint as to her destination or reason for departure- she craved it. She always had, and it suited her. She knew better than to become close-minded of course- the plan had always been that she would travel from town to town until she found a reason. A reason to stay in one place, a reason to settle down, and a reason to live as most people lived. She did not relish the idea but had enough common sense to know that she would not be young forever, that maybe there was a time and a place for everyone, even one has travel-worn as she.

Shrugging nonchalantly to herself, she backed away from the window, her mind spent. 'It won't be happening tomorrow or the next day, so what's the use in worrying now?' she reasoned. Turning, she stumbled into bed, tugging the sheets up over her slight figure. Before losing herself in sleep, a recent memory replayed itself in front of her eyes. She saw the new farmer walking out of the bar and into the rain. Nami fell asleep wondering.

The following morning, Jack awoke to the sound of irritated mooing. Dressing quickly, he stepped outside and staggered into the dawn, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Reaching for the door, he was surprised to find it cracked open. His brow furrowed in concern as he swung it open and stepped out of the morning mist.

He heard a small gasp escape the darkness in front of him, but his eyes had not adjusted to the change and he stood paralyzed for a moment, fully awake. Nami was standing there, looking as if she had been running to the door. She had a stricken look in her eyes that Jack noticed right away, thought she struggled to conceal it. The two could do nothing but stare for several seconds of eternity.

"…Nami, right?"

She gulped and didn't answer immediately. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to trespass, I just wanted to… um." She gestured to Sakura, who stood in a far corner munching.

Almost immediately, Jack's puzzled face softened. He glanced from girl to cow to girl again, and chuckled softly.

"I see… hey, it's no problem. I don't mind you hanging around. In fact, maybe you could give me a few tips on that old girl, since you seem so fond of her. I can't seem to win her trust, and it's hurting my income." His eyes grew hopeful.

Nami shook her head in denial. "No no… I don't know much about animals; I just like their company. Your cow doesn't seem too fond of me though, if she was loud enough to wake you up." She took a few steps backward, feeling vulnerable.

"Nah, the thing bleats like that all the time. I just rushed over 'cause I thought that something might be wrong… in case you hadn't heard, I'm sort of new to this whole farm thing. The week has been a stressful one." Jack rubbed the back of his neck regrettably.

Nami dropped her guard a bit, sensing something warm about the farmer. "I can imagine."

"Anyway, I guess things are ok after all…" Jack paused a second, bemused. "I thought that I was the only one in the valley that woke up at this hour."

Nami felt her face flush a bit. "I guess not… we might be the only ones, though." A funny feeling came across her, then. She felt something strange and pleasant about the man standing before her, as if the two were kindred spirits. Frowning, she chased the thought out of her mind. How silly, she thought. Still, it was strange that…

"Um, Nami? Did you hear me?"

"Hmm? What?" She pried her eyes off of the ground in front of her feet to realize that Jack still stood before her. She had slipped into deep thought right in the middle of a conversation!

"I, uh… asked you if you want to come in for breakfast." Jack looked bewildered.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I really can't stay. I… need to get back to the hotel." Nami looked toward the door anxiously. She was beginning to feel an all-too-familiar feeling surface within her- that she had worn her welcome out once again, and it was time to leave.

"Oh… well that's okay. Hey, feel free to stop by anytime you like. Maybe Sakura likes company." Jack stepped aside for her and then followed her out into the morning.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Uh… bye." Nami waved awkwardly and began to walk briskly away. Jack was about to turn back to his house when he realized that he had forgotten to even tell her his name.

"Hey, Nami! The name's Jack, by the way!" he called to the back of her head. She stopped and turned around for a brief second.

"Yeah, uh… I know your name." She turned again and hurried toward the village, leaving a very puzzled Jack standing alone in the yard.