Theme Song: Feeling Good - Nina Simone
She woke up early again, Marnie's rooster refusing to let her sleep another minute beyond 6am. Fortunately, she was learning that she might have been a morning person prior to her accident. She didn't mind getting up, and was filled with eager energy. Today, she would plant her first seeds.
Her excitement only increased when she noticed something in the mailbox.
My first letter!
She opened it up and scanned the words quickly:
Hello there, Just got back from a fishing trip. You should come down to the beach some time. I've got something for ya.
-Willy
That was the man that Mayor Lewis had been checking on. He owned the shop off the pier. She smiled. How sweet of him to take the time to send a letter without having met her yet. She'd definitely have to stop by as soon as she had gotten some parsnips in the ground.
Alright, just like Dr. Harvey said. Take it slow.
She surveyed the area in front of the house, noting a small pond not far off.
If I plant near there, fetching water for the crops won't be too time consuming. I'll just clear the area directly in front of the house for today… And then head into town to meet more people and see what Willy has for me.
Mayor Lewis had been kind enough to lay out the old owner's farm tools. They weren't the best, but she'd be able to work with them at least. Starting with rocks, then logs and branches, and finally weeds… She was able to clear a nice little space in 3 hours' time. Tilling the ground was even faster, and it didn't take long until all fifteen parsnips were planted and watered.
Right. That wasn't so bad. I'll have to earn money to buy more seeds quickly if I'm going to have a bigger harvest before the end of the season… But this will get me started at least.
The hard work finished for the day, the farmer smiled at her handiwork before heading into town. It wasn't even noon yet, and she already felt accomplished! This feeling was only magnified when she ran into Emily on her way down to the beach. The cocktail waitress had just stepped outside her house as the Farmer was passing.
"Getting work done early today, Farmer?" she called.
"Actually, yes! I just finished planting my first seeds for the season. It wasn't much, but I'm hoping to plant more soon!" The Farmer slowed her pace as she approached. She wasn't in any hurry to get to the beach. There was plenty of time.
"Wow! That's wonderful! You know, working part-time at Gus' saloon pays the bills, but…" Emily looked to make sure no one was around to hear. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a job like you, where I have more freedom to do what I want. There's an old mine up on the mountain that I've been dying to explore for gemstones! The way is blocked right now, but pretty soon it will be cleared."
"Mines?"
"Oh, yeah! Folks go up there all the time to mine stone and other precious metals. You can find all sorts of things up there. They go really deep, but you have to be careful. Don't go without a weapon because there are all sorts of creatures in the tunnels," Emily smiled. "Hey, if you do go and find anything shiny that you don't want, bring it to me, okay?"
"Sure!" the farmer shrugged. "No problem!"
"Great! I'm so glad you're here! If I can't go find those gems myself, having someone else on the lookout for me is the next best thing! Hopefully I'll see you around soon!"
"I look forward to it!"
Emily took off down the path again, leaving the Farmer to continue on her way to the beach. She made sure to keep her eyes open for anything that looked forageable, keeping in mind the advice of the TV program she had watched the night before. There were a few flowers that looked like they might fetch a price, so she picked them along the way.
The salty air stung her eyes as she walked along the dock, letting the ocean breeze play with her hair. It annoyed her a little bit, the way it was cut, but she figured there wasn't much she could do about it right now. Unless she found someone in town who could make it more manageable, she'd just have to deal with it.
"Ahoy there, Miss!"
Her thoughts were interrupted by an older, patchy looking gentleman standing on the edge of the wooden planks outside the fishing shack. She smiled, assuming it was Willy, and approached.
"Heard there was a newcomer in town… Good to finally meet ya!"
"You as well. Thank you for the letter. It was my first one, actually!"
"Ah… It was no problem. I'm still tryin' to unwind from a month out on the salty seas," his grey eyes scanned the horizon, filled with love and nostalgia. "It was a big haul! I sold a lot of good fish. Finally saved enough to buy me a new rod."
She wasn't sure what to say. His eyes had glazed over and he seemed lost in some memories, so she just stood next to him quietly for a while. It was a surprisingly comfortable silence.
"Here," he finally turned to her, holding out a fishing pole that appeared to be made of bamboo. "I want you to have my old fishing rod."
"Oh, but I can't-" she was about to protest, but he hushed her and waved her worries away.
"It's important to me that the art o' fishing stays alive," he explained, and continued quickly when she started to argue once more. "And hey, maybe you'll buy somethin' from the shop once in a while."
"Sure…" She finally relented, taking the pole.
"There's good water here in the valley. All kinds o' fish…" he looked at her with a wink. "Oh yeah. My shop's back open now, so come by if you need supplies. I'll also buy anything you catch. 'If it smells, it sells.' Heh heh. That's what my ol' Pappy used to say, anyway…"
"I'm sure you'll be seeing me soon, then," she smiled. "And you can give me some pointers. I'm afraid I might find that I'm not very good at fishing…"
"Or it could be a hidden skill that you uncover," Willy looked at her kindly. "Yours is a strange situation, to be sure. We're all here for you, though."
"I really appreciate that."
Willy took a long drag on his pipe and let it spew out, "I have a feeling you're gonna end up helping us more than we help you."
She laughed, shaking her head, "I doubt it."
There was another bout of silence, and then Willy stretched and said, "Well… I better be getting back inside in case a customer comes around. Go give that pole a try and come back again to tell me what you think."
"For sure. I definitely will. Have a good day!"
"You too, Miss."
Willy returned to his store, leaving her standing on the dock, staring into the ocean. She almost tried out the fishing pole, but felt awkward doing it where Willy might be watching. If she really did end up being bad, she didn't want the fishing master to see her struggle.
Instead, she decided to do a little beach combing while she waited to see if the resident of the beachside shack was around. She was pleasantly surprised to find a mussel and a clam, but when it became apparent she would find nothing else, she started thinking about heading out. As she turned away from the mysterious house, she noticed a broken bridge nearby.
You know… I bet I could repair that one day. With enough wood. Robin could probably do it better, but… It doesn't need to be fancy, right? I could help out like she does, too! Maybe I could go ask her for a few tips…
Feeling a bit more motivated, she decided to see if she could find Robin's shop and headed back into town. Along the way, she ran into Mayor Lewis, who reminded her that the box outside her house was for selling things, and to feel free to place anything she didn't want in there. Of course, she had forgotten to do just that the night before. She assured him she'd use it that evening before continuing onward. She could see Alex just a ways up the road.
He must have noticed the direction she was coming from. Or maybe it was the fishing pole. Either way, he stopped tossing his football for a moment to give her a polite nod, "The beach is a cool place to hang out and soak up some rays. You gotta spend some time in the sun or you'll get all pale."
"It was a nice day," she agreed. "I even found some shells in the sand."
Alex started tossing his football again, a grin crossing his face, "Hey, do you wanna hang out with me at the beach sometime?"
"That sounds nice," she said with a nod.
"Do you have a bikini?"
Her heart stopped.
"Do I have a- uh- what?"
"A bikini? You know? To swim in?" he continued tossing the ball, unaware of how flustered she was. Or maybe he was just unphased. "I know you kind of ended up here unplanned and all that, so I was just wondering if you had beach gear."
Right. Beach gear.
"N-no," she finally stammered out. "But it's okay! We could hang out without swimming, right?"
Alex shrugged, "Swimming makes it more fun, but it's all good. Let me know when you aren't busy doing farm chores."
"O-okay! Will do!"
"See ya!"
"See ya…"
She felt like she couldn't escape the situation soon enough as she tried to not run down the road to get away. Her face was burning bright red and her heart must have been pounding so loud, everyone in town probably heard it. She was so completely dazed that she ran into a woman outside of a building marked Joja Mart, crashing to the ground in a heap with enough embarrassment to last a lifetime.
"Whoa! Hey, kid…" the woman looked her up and down before holding her hand out to help her up.
"I am so sorry!" the farmer gladly accepted the assistance. "I should have been watching where I was going, Miss… Er…"
"The name's Pam," the woman had a raspy voice. It made the farmer nervous. She seemed like a tough woman. The kind you don't want to cross.
"I'm the new farmer… Sorry again for running into you. That was… not a great first impression."
"Eh…" Pam waved her worry away. "Don't be a jerk and we'll get along fine. Just watch where you're going. Wouldn't want you to fall in the river or anything."
"Right, sorry…"
"Well, I'm gonna go get something to drink… You take care, kid."
"See ya around…"
The farmer let out a sigh as she continued down the path, berating herself for not paying attention. At least it had been someone who was understanding. She didn't dare think about what would have happened if it had been that Shane guy who had been so rude the previous morning.
She grew excited when she came upon the blacksmith shop. Better tools would make clearing her land go much faster, and she hadn't introduced herself here yet. She walked inside and looked around hesitantly at all the equipment before her eyes landed on a large man standing behind the counter. He must have been daydreaming, because he was staring out the window and completely unaware that she had entered.
"Uhm… Hi," she waved politely, hoping to catch his attention. It worked fairly quickly as his eyes moved to her location. "I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm the new farmer…"
"Er…" he seemed a little caught off guard, but quickly recovered. "Hi. I'm Clint. I'm the town blacksmith… Obviously. If you… If you ever need to upgrade your tools, I'm your guy."
"Great! That's the other thing I came in to talk with you about!" she reached into her bag and pulled out her pickaxe to show him. It still felt like there was something strange about her surprisingly large backpack, but she had started ignoring those strange inklings. "What would I need to do to get this upgraded?"
After her chat with Clint, she decided to head back up towards the park, where she had stopped exploring yesterday. Robin's shop was likely up the mountain. She remembered Sebastian mentioning something about a mountain pass the night he found her.
Along the way, she could see Abigail, who had just left the general store. She could probably give her directions, but she didn't look like she was in a great mood, and this was only confirmed when the farmer called out to her, "Hey, Abby!"
"Ugh…" she frowned. "I'm not in a good mood right now."
"Oh…" the farmer faltered a little. "I was just wondering if-"
"I said I'm not in a good mood!" the girl with purple hair snapped, causing the farmer to flinch and draw back.
"I-I'm sorry…" she mentally berated herself for being push.
"... What do you want?" Abigail sighed, softening a little.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I hope your day gets better."
She couldn't scamper away fast enough. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be the last awkward encounter for the evening. At the park, she met a girl named Haley who was quick to dismiss her. She played the conversation in her head as she trudged away, wondering if she could have done something better.
"Oh… You're the new farmer girl, or whatever. Aren't you?" Haley had said, disinterested as she examined her nails.
"Yes! What's your name?"
"Huh? Oh… I'm Haley."
"That's a pretty name!"
Haley finally looked up and stared at the farmer, "Hmm… If it weren't for those horrendous clothes you might actually be pretty…"
"O-oh… Well… I guess that's kind for you to-"
"Actually, nevermind."
The farmer had been stunned into silence, and Haley had gone back to ignoring her. She tried to push it off and remind herself that she didn't have a choice with the clothes… And she didn't even think they looked that bad. They reminded her of Dr. Harvey's kindness.
Maybe it was her hair.
Her fingertips brushed the ends as she thought about it. It didn't really feel like it was her style. She couldn't figure out why, but it felt wrong somehow, the way it was cut. Maybe if she got it evened out…
As she headed further up the mountain, she noticed a building much too large to be a house towering over the small community of Pelican Town. It looked abandoned, and when she tried the door, it was locked tight.
I wonder what this building is. Or was. I'll have to ask someone. Maybe Mayor Lewis could tell me. Not right now though…
She finally found Robin's shop after another ten minutes of wandering. It was definitely up on the mountain, next to a beautiful lake. She pushed the door open, breathing in the scent of freshly cut wood, but Robin was nowhere to be seen.
"Hello?" she called softly, just in case Robin was further in the house.
"Hello! Just come on down the hall!"
It wasn't Robin's voice, and it definitely belonged to a male. Probably Robin's husband.
"Don't be shy!"
The farmer did her best to push aside anxiety as she entered what appeared to be a sort of laboratory. A tall black man was standing there, going over some data on a clipboard.
"Hi," she stopped in the doorway, nervous to touch anything. All the equipment looked very expensive.
"Greetings!" he turned to face her with a smile. "I'm Demetrius, local scientist and father."
"I'm… The new farmer," she held her hand out and he took it into a firm handshake.
"Thanks for introducing yourself! I'm studying the local plants and animals from my home laboratory," he gestured to the equipment.
"Oh? That's interesting," she tried to be polite, but secretly wondered how different the plants in the valley could be, and whether they really warranted that much research.
He turned back to his work, but continued conversing, "Have you met my daughter, Maru? She's interested to meet you…"
"Oh! Yes! I did. I met her yesterday, actually," the farmer smiled. "And of course you probably know I already met your son as well."
"Step-son."
"Pardon?"
"I'm not Sebastian's father."
He wasn't mean about it. He stated it like it was a scientific fact. She stopped to consider that it probably was… Just another fact.
"I guess I learn something new every day," she let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."
"No need to be sorry. That's just the truth. I'm glad he was able to help you."
"Right," she shifted awkwardly. "I was just looking to ask Robin some questions, but I guess she's out right now."
"She has some sort of class in town on Tuesdays."
"Gotcha. Okay. Well… I guess I'll come by tomorrow. It was nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you, too," he nodded his head and then went back to work as the farmer escaped towards the front door.
I can't wait until I know enough that I don't unknowingly walk into situations like this so often…
She decided to follow the path and see if she could find the mountain pass that would take her home. Instead, she found the blockage that Emily was talking about. She could hear people working to clear it, so she turned around and went the other way. It was beautiful up on the mountain and she was just beginning to enjoy herself when she saw a large man standing in the path.
Something about the scene caused her to freeze, adrenaline rushing through her body. Uncontrollable shaking replaced her steady steps and she watched the man from about twenty feet away, unable to make a sound as he finally turned to see her.
"A stranger? Hello…"
The kindness in his voice eased her fear a little bit, but she was still too shaken to talk.
"Don't mind me," he said with a gravelly voice. "I just live out here alone."
"I-I…" she struggled to find her voice. "I'm the farmer. The new farmer."
"Ah…" he looked over to the side, and for the first time, she saw his tent. "Welcome to the valley."
"T-thank you. I uh… I'll be going then. Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I was just… Exploring," she started to back away, feeling bad as the stranger was noticeably hurt.
"Take care of yourself, Miss."
What was that!?
It wasn't until she reached the park that she took a second to catch her breath. There hadn't been anything wrong with the man. He had actually been quite friendly. So why had she been paralyzed with fear so suddenly? She started to walk toward the clinic, thinking that maybe Dr. Harvey could help her understand, when she stopped.
He's probably busy. You don't want to bother him. It's probably nothing… Even though he said to stop by anytime. And he probably wouldn't mind. But if there was an emergency going on and you just waltz in thinking-
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Evelyn walk out of the clinic and stop to stare at her, waving a hand to catch her attention.
"What are you thinking about, dear?" the old woman's voice startled her.
"Oh! Evelyn! Hi! Sorry, I was just… thinking about something that happened while I was up on the mountain…" she shook her head to clear it.
"Oh dear. You ran into Linus, didn't you dear?"
"Linus?"
"The wild man?"
She blinked and nodded slowly, "I suppose that is probably an apt description of him…"
"Don't mind him, sweetheart. He means no harm. Come home with me and take a rest. You look all shook up."
The farmer didn't object as Evelyn led her to a modest house just down the road. As she opened the door, Evelyn gave the farmer a friendly wink, "Don't mind my husband, George. He isn't very friendly to strangers. If you get to know him better, he'll warm up to you. I'm sure you two could become good friends one day!"
The farmer was led into the quaint building. It was decorated with various glass trinkets and pictures on the wall. She recognized Alex in some of them, making the family connection.
"Come here, deary," Evelyn motioned for her to step into the sitting room where was an old man, sitting in a wheelchair, watching TV. "Honey, meet the new farmer."
The old man rolled his eyes and looked over at the farmer, his mouth a thin line, "Hmmph… It's irritating to have to meet all these new people, huh?"
"It can be a little overwhelming," the farmer admitted.
" Name's George, by the way. Now buzz off… Hmmph."
She tried to not let her disappointment show on her face, but Evelyn quickly ushered her out anyway. "I have some cookies in the kitchen, come have one before you leave."
As they sat at the table, enjoying some of Evelyn's cookies and milk, the farmer finally found the courage to ask, "Has he always been grumpy like that?"
"Who? George?" Evelyn smiled over the edge of the mug that she was drinking from. "No. No, not at all. He used to be very charming and romantic. He was very active as well… Like our grandson, Alex."
"So… It's the wheelchair?"
"You could say that," Evelyn shrugged with a grin. "Since you're so interested in my husband, I'll let you in on a little secret: he really likes leeks! You can find them in the mountains this time of year."
"Leeks," the farmer nodded with a knowing look. "I'll see what I can do."
"Ooh, I knew you were a keeper. You're going to get along fine around here," Evelyn stood, wrapping the farmer in a grandmotherly hug. "I know it can be a lot, and it's probably scary not being able to remember so much… But you keep that positive attitude."
"I'll try."
And that's exactly what she resolved to do, heading back up the mountain to face whatever she needed to so that she could understand what it was that had bothered her so much.
"Hey! Farmer!"
She turned and smiled as Maru ran up with a wave, "Have you met my mother? She's the town's carpenter. I can introduce you right now! Our house is up this way…"
"Oh, that's kind Maru. I actually met her already. She kind of… fixed up my house."
"Ah! Makes sense!" Maru grinned, but the farmer had other thoughts swirling in her head.
The clear definition of Sebastian as the step-son. Demetrius not knowing she had already met Maru. Maru not realizing that she had already met Robin… It was becoming very clear that this was a family that did not communicate very well.
"If you ever want the quick way home, the mountain pass is that way," Maru's voice jarred the farmer from her thoughts.
"I spent the afternoon looking for that," the farmer chuckled. It was the path she had seen Linus on before. It was good to know she had been on the right track, at least.
"Well, now you know! Do you want to come inside?"
"Oh," the farmer looked at the mountain house, but couldn't bring herself to impose on the family. "That's okay. Willy gave me this fishing pole this morning and I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. There's that lake nearby, so…"
"Ooh! Gotcha. Good luck!"
"Thanks. See ya later!"
Fishing turned out to be rather therapeutic. Thoughts about the day and the people she had met swirled in her head as she waited patiently for her line to go taut. She must have cast it two or three times before she finally got a real bite. The first few had rendered her with nothing but algae, a pair of broken classes, and a surprisingly unopened can of soda. She struggled with the fish at first, but finally, she got in touch with the rhythm that it was pulling in and managed to reel in an average sized sunfish. She was feeling really proud of herself, until she noticed someone watching her.
"Thought you were going home empty handed for a minute there," Sebastian flicked some ashes off the end of his cigarette, leaning against a tree near the water just thirty feet away.
"How long were you standing there?"
"Before you got here," he raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to have a lot on your mind. I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts."
"Yeah…" she sighed. "It's… Just a lot to take in. And sometimes I-" she stopped, blushing.
"Sometimes you what?" Sebastian asked, taking another drag and then expelling the smoke.
"There are just a lot of things that I don't understand. I'm not sure how to explain it… But it's like… Sensations and feelings on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite recall… Where they're from. Or why I'm feeling them…"
"Can't say I relate," Sebastian gave her a sympathetic look. "Sorry."
"It's alright," she gave a sad laugh. "I don't expect you to."
"Maybe you should go see a doctor."
"Like Dr. Harvey?"
"Sort of. But in the city," his gaze was previously fixed on the other side of the lake, but when he looked over at her, he suddenly got flustered. "Not that Harvey isn't a good doctor! He is. The city just has doctors that might specialize in your condition. One of them might even recognize you…"
"I get it," she said with a grin. "Maybe that would be a good idea. Would Dr. Harvey be offended?"
"I doubt it," Sebastian took another puff on his cigarette. "He'd probably recommend it, honestly."
"Maybe I'll mention it."
"Good."
There was that silence again. It was probably comfortable for Sebastian, but she felt rather awkward about it.
"Well, I should probably go down to the saloon and get something to eat. I haven't quite settle in yet. Planted my first seeds this morning though…"
Sebastian didn't answer her, but he nodded in acknowledgement.
The saloon was mostly empty. Gus and Emily were busying themselves behind the counter, but other than them, Shane was the only other person she could see. He looked up as she entered, and she gave a small wave.
"What? What do you want? Go away."
Right… He did not like her.
She ordered some more bread, carefully counting out her few precious gold pieces before handing them over to Gus and heading out as quickly as she'd come. Once she arrived at home, she placed the flowers that she had foraged and the fish she caught in the shipping box for Lewis to pick up. Hopefully she'd make something and be able to purchase something other than bread soon.
Tucked into bed by 9:30pm, she barely noticed the storm blowing in on the wind as she fell asleep, exhausted from her day's activities.
You're not bothering me. You could have stayed.
Sebastian watched her disappear down the mountain, headed towards the saloon. He threw the butt of his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his heel, pushing it further into the dirt. He couldn't get attached to her. She had a home. She had a family. She probably had a boyfriend who was worried about her, and he was probably someone like Alex. Fit. Charming. Perfect.
Everything that he wasn't.
Whatever. She was better off without a screw up like him.
He watched her from the trees as she entered the cabin for the night. She was staying, for now. But Sebastian's advice for her to seek help in the city could prove problematic. He'd have to make sure that didn't happen.
What to do?
Keep her busy. Lewis would have her enter the community center soon, and then she'd be too busy to think about her past.
Stardew Valley couldn't afford to have another farmer fall through. Not if the magic was going to be protected. Not if their way of life was going to survive.
They needed her. And what she thought she needed…
It didn't matter.
