Theme Song: Lonely Eyes - Chris Young
She tripped and fell in the mud, pain shooting up her leg as it scraped against the rocks hidden beneath the slimy surface of the wet ground. She didn't have time to think about it though. If she did, he'd find her and…
She was on her feet before she could think about it, slipping and sliding, but able to stay upright this time as she ran through the trees. She clutched her cat to her chest with one hand, the other holding a sharp kitchen knife as she tried to keep an eye on the puppy who was running ahead. Her chest was burning, and she needed to take a break…
But a glance over her shoulder revealed that he was still in pursuit. So close…
A hand grabbed at her hair and she let out a scream as she was jerked back. She swung her arm around, ready to plunge the knife into his chest, but he caught her hand.
"You're mine now!"
The farmer jerked awake, her heart pounding as she gasped for air and looked around the small cabin with fear. At first, she didn't recognize her surroundings. This wasn't her little trailer!
No. No it wasn't. It was the cabin on the farm. The one Robin had fixed up for her. She sat back against her pillow, hand pressed against her chest as she willed her heart to calm down.
You're fine. You're okay.
She could hear rain hitting the roof. It was dark, but not too dark. It was morning, which was comforting. She didn't want to go back to sleep.
What… What was that nightmare? Something from before?
She tried to shake it off as she got dressed and stepped out onto the porch. She wouldn't need to water her parsnips today, which would give her a little more time to work on clearing the land. Maybe if she moved quick enough, she'd have time to look for a leek on the mountain and do some more fishing. The sunfish she had caught the day before had actually fetched a nice price, and if she caught a little more, maybe she'd recover enough funds to feel comfortable with spending money again.
As she surveyed the land, she could make out an opening along the cliff face. Figuring that must be where the mountain pass was on her end, she decided to start making her way over there. Like the day before, she started with rocks, then branches, then weeds. Pretty soon the way to the mountain pass was clear, and she'd found another surprise.
Along the cliff face was a small cave. When she cautiously ventured inside, she discovered that it wasn't terribly big. Nothing dangerous seemed to live there. It was just a small chamber, protected from the elements, but full of dirt. She walked back out, allowing the rain to wash the grime from all her work away as she returned to the house. It wasn't much, but she was making progress.
I should go see if I can purchase more seeds. Then I'll head to the beach and try some fishing.
She knew she also wanted to go to the mountain, but something was stopping her. Thoughts of running into the wild man and being up there after her nightmare… It wasn't very appealing anymore. She'd avoid it as much as possible.
Unfortunately, she quickly learned that Pierre's shop was closed on Wednesdays. She thought about going to the general store… Joja Mart? But something about the place made her skin crawl. She'd never even been inside, but she preferred Pierre and Caroline's friendly shop. She didn't have much money anyway, so it would be okay to wait a day or two. Instead, she headed to the beach to catch some fish. That way, she'd have something to buy the seeds with the following day.
She positioned herself outside the beachside cabin, fishing in the shallow water near the broken down bridge. She was curious to see who lived there, and it was a nice fishing spot where Willy wouldn't be able to spy on her from his shop. She still wasn't confident in her fishing skills.
This proved to be a wise decision, as the first fish got away easily, and her second try resulted in a mass of seaweed. It was only after struggling with the line and untangling it after the first couple tries thay she finally caught what looked like a sardine. This was followed up with an anchovy. They were small, but they were helping her gain confidence.
Her best catch was her final cast though. She caught a very nice herring that gave her the confidence to go in and show Willy her haul. He had said he'd buy whatever she caught, and she did need money for dinner…
"Ahoy there!" He greeted her as soon as she walked in. "It's nice to see young folk comin' into the shop. It's not very common these days."
"I just thought you'd like to see your gift being put to good use," she smiled and put her three fish on the counter. "They aren't much, but I did catch them!"
"Ooh, these are just fine," Willy said with a nod. "Are ya lookin' to sell 'em?"
"You bet!" She beamed as he quickly counted out 115 gold pieces for her.
"There ya are. Keep practicin' and maybe I'll start bringing some new merchandise in."
"I'll do my best. Thank you!" She said with a wave as she exited the store.
Well, it doesn't look like I'll be meeting the owner of the beach cabin today. Probably hiding from the rain. There's no putting it off anymore. You need a leek to get George to like you, and it's better to go now while it's light outside!
She got there not a moment too soon. Fishing had taken up a good portion of her afternoon, and she had precious few hours of daylight to find what she was looking for. Luckily, she seemed to have very vivid memories of what a leek looked like. It was strange. There seemed to be more attached to it than that, but she couldn't recall much more than digging through the dirt and being excited to try something new.
She had walked quite a ways while scanning the ground, and she didn't notice Linus' tent until she almost ran into it. Luckily, she looked up just in time and stopped short. And, if she hadn't looked up, she might have missed the leek on the other side of the canvas structure.
"Oh!" She said with excitement as she quickly pulled the leek out of the ground before turning to notice Linus standing near his tent, watching her with a curious expression. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. Is this your leek?"
He shook his head slowly.
"Are you sure? You probably do a lot of foraging around here. I don't want to make things harder on you, trust me."
"I don't know you well enough to trust you," he said in his deep, booming voice. "Sorry."
"O-oh…" she looked at the leek in her hands, and then back at the wild man before holding it out, but he shook his head.
"You need it more. I've foraged enough food. You don't have any."
She wasn't sure if she wanted to even know how he knew that, but she had to be honest, "I was actually looking for a gift…. For George."
Linus went quiet. He seemed almost…. Frightened? Why would a massive wild man like him be scared of an old man in a wheelchair?
"That's kind of you."
"Honestly, I'm really just trying to bribe him into liking me," she said with a nervous laugh.
Linus pondered that, then nodded his head, as if he understood her need to win over everyone she came across. When he didn't say anything further, however, she looked at the sinking sun and decided she should probably say goodbye.
"Thank you again, for the leek."
"It wasn't mine to give. Just a gift from nature."
"Right. Well…. Thank you for being willing to share what's around your tent," she gave an awkward head nod.
"Good luck with George."
"Thanks."
As she walked, she made a mental note to add Linus to her growing list of people to try and win over. She was starting to realize that if she really wanted to not have anyone hate her, she was going to have to please the whole town.
But I can do that. I'm determined. If I can maximize the different kinds of people I can be around, I'll have more likelihood of remembering things from my past. I think…
She knocked on the door to George and Evelyn's home and entered when she thought she heard someone call that it was open. To be honest though, she'd seen many people walking in and out of each other's houses. She doubted the people of Pelican Town minded.
"Hello! It's the new farmer!"
"I'm in the kitchen, dear! George is watching TV!" Evelyn shouted through the house.
"Evening, George!" the farmer greeted the old man cheerfully as she walked into the room, the leek held behind her back. "How are you today?"
"It's awful cold, isn't it?" he looked her up and down with a frown. "What a rotten day!"
"Aw, it isn't that bad, is it?"
"Hmph!"
"Well, here. I have something that I hope will make it better," she smiled, holding the leek out to him. His eyes got wide and he looked at her in amazement before his own grin broke across his face.
"This is my favorite thing!" he snatched it out of her hand. "Thank you!"
"Is your day just a little better now?" she smiled, holding her fingers to signify how much his day should have improved.
He looked a little bit disgruntled at her cheeriness, but he finally relented with a grunt, holding up his own fingers with a smaller gap, "Just a smidge. Now scram! I'm watching my program!"
"Yes sir!" she said with a salute, her smile widening. "I'll see you later!"
She didn't give him a chance to respond before retreating to the kitchen to greet Evelyn before taking off again. Secretly, and a little bit shamefully, she was hoping the old woman had baked something she'd be willing to part with. The farmer hadn't eaten a thing all day.
"Evening, Evelyn. How are you today?" She was sad to see nothing cooking or baking, but slightly relieved. She did feel a little bad relying on the kindness of others to feed herself at the moment.
"Oh…" Evelyn sighed. "When I woke up I heard dripping from somewhere… I think the roof might be leaking. In the old days, George would've scampered right up and fixed it…"
"Yikes! Do you want me to fetch Robin to take a look at it?"
"No, that's alright. I'll have Alex see if he can find it, first. He's done his fair share of fixing them as well. He just isn't home right now. I'm worried about him out in this weather…" Evelyn glanced out her kitchen window.
"I'm sure he's okay," the farmer tried to be comforting. "But let me know if you change your mind. It really wouldn't be a big deal. I was just going to stop by Gus' on my way home, but that's not anything important…"
"I'll keep it in mind, dear. You run along now. And send Alex inside if you see him."
"Yes ma'am!"
Luckily, she didn't have to go very far before she ran into Alex, who was already headed home and in a slightly sour mood.
"Alex! Your grandma is looking for you. She was worried about you being out in the rain…"
"Hmmp," Alex made a face that was somewhat reminiscent of George's annoyed look. "This is not good weather for sports. Oh well. I can always lift weights inside."
"What were you doing out here, anyway?"
"Oh," he smiled. "Just making sure the dog was taken care of."
"Gotcha. Okay! Have fun lifting weights, then. Hopefully it's nice and sunny for you tomorrow and you're able to get some practice in!"
He seemed surprised by her genuine wish, but she didn't give him time to respond before scampering away. She hadn't forgotten the bikini conversation from the previous day, and she wasn't ready to revisit the idea of hanging out at the beach. There wasn't anything wrong with Alex… It just made her self-conscious…. Something she apparently was not a fan of.
The saloon had quite a few people in it when the farmer entered. She had met all of them already, so at least she'd avoid any awkward first impressions. Unfortunately, Shane was also there, glaring at her already from his signature spot. She started to approach him, but he stopped her short.
"No. I don't have time to chat with you."
But… You're just standing there?
She scanned the room again, about ready to sit down when someone caught her eye, standing in the game room. She walked closer to investigate, a grin spreading across her face when she realized it was Sebastian. He was wearing another black hoodie, which reminded her… She quickly removed the hoodie that she had been using to shelter from the rain most of the day.
"Sebastian! Hey!" She walked through the arch that led to the pool table and the young man looked up at her. He seemed a little down. "What're you up to?"
"What am I going to do today? Probably nothing," he shoved his hands into his pockets. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing much either, just stopped by before heading home," she held out the hoodie. "Thought I'd return this while you're here. It's hard to catch you during the day sometimes."
"Oh…" he shrugged. "Go ahead and keep it for now. It's raining outside still. Wouldn't want you to get sick."
"I'll be okay," she waited, but he made no move to recover his jacket. "But I suppose it's better safe than sorry."
Sebastian nodded and she pulled it back over her head.
"Anyway…" she looked at the ground awkwardly. "It was nice to see you again. Hopefully I'll see you around more often. I'm trying out a lot of new things, and foraging around on the mountain is one of them. Emily said I should try the mine, but it's blocked off right now…"
There was a flash of something across Sebastian's face, but she could quite catch what it was, "Just be careful. There are dangerous creatures in there… But I'm sure you'd be able to handle them."
"Guess we'll see…" she looked back out to the main dining area. Sebastian wasn't being much of a conversationalist, and she felt like she was bothering him again. "Take care."
Sebastian didn't stop her, so she turned and walked out, trying to not overthink the interaction. Her mind was full of concerns about sounding awkward or dorky, but she pushed them away as she approached Gus, who was working behind the counter. That was one awkward conversation over. Time to create another one.
"Hey Gus!"
"Hey there, farmer!"
"Can I buy a drink?"
Gus eyed her somewhat warily, and she remembered what Dr. Harvey said about her potential age range. She quickly realized the saloon owner wasn't sure she was old enough to drink.
"It's not for me!" she said quickly. "I'm going to hand it right over to someone else."
"Uh huh…"
"No, really, Gus! I promise. You can even watch me."
"What are you thinking about getting?"
"Uh…" She scanned the menu. There really wasn't much. She glanced around the room, noticing that several of the other townsfolk had the same drink. In fact, the only one not drinking seemed to be Dr. Harvey, who was seated near the bar. "Actually, could I get two drinks? Second one isn't for me either. You can tell me what would be best…"
"Ooh!" Emily bounced over, clearly eavesdropping. "Who are you buying for?"
The farmer pointed at Shane, leaning over the counter to whisper to Emily, "I don't think he likes me much. I'm trying to soften him up."
The blue haired girl giggled, "Good luck!"
"And the other is for Dr. Harvey. He's really helped me a lot, and he doesn't have anything right now…" She looked over, but the doctor seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Shane probably just wants a beer," Emily started to move around and prepare the drinks, which made Gus sigh before he returned to wiping the counter, though he still kept a close eye on the farmer. "And Dr. Harvey usually just gets coffee. I'll start brewing some right now."
"Thank you!" The farmer sat down on a stool, watching Emily busy herself behind the counter. Within a few seconds, a nice, cold glass stein of beer was placed into the hands of the farmer, who tried to calm her nerves before approaching was looking at the floor, almost like he was purposefully avoiding eye contact.
"Here," she held it out to him, giving her best smile. "I thought you might like a small greeting gift. I think we may have started out on the wrong foot…"
Shane looked up, his face already forming a scowl that quickly evaporated, "Oh wow, Farmer! How'd you know this was my favorite?"
"Emily, actually," she gestured behind her then held out her hand to him. "Anyway… Hi. I'm the new farmer. It's nice to meet you."
He hesitated, but finally reached out and took her hand in his. His palms were rough and his grip firm.
"Shane."
"So I've heard."
"Hey farmer!" Emily called out to her, holding up the coffee mug. The farmer turned back to Shane, giving him a smile.
"Glad we finally had a chance to chat. Other duties call, but have a nice evening, alright?"
She revelled in his stunned silence as she walked away and rejoined Emily, leaning against the counter.
"Been awhile since I've seen Shane smile."
"He just needed a little kindness."
"Yeah," Emily's eyes sparkled. "Sure. From a certain farmer."
The farmer's face grew warm and she sputtered, "What? No! We barely even introduced ourselves."
Emily chuckled, "You're fun to tease. Do you want me to give this one to Harvey, or would you like to do that yourself as well?"
"You can do that one," the farmer grinned. "I'm not trying to get Dr. Harvey to be nice to me because he's already nice enough. He'll feel like he owes me, so don't tell him who bought it."
"Wow," Emily nodded, impressed. "Not even in town for a week and you already know so much about us."
"He did save my life."
"Fair enough."
The farmer waited until Emily had delivered the cup to a bewildered Dr. Harvey, and then she made her way across the room, catching snippets of conversations as she went. Willy was chatting with Gus as he ordered something to take with him on his boat that night. Leah was lamenting that she accidentally stepped on a bug. She took a seat between Dr. Harvey and Pam, unsure of what to do other than sit and take in the various noises of the saloon.
Unfortunately, the amount of noise made it hard to pick out a single conversation, and in lieu of eavesdropping, her thoughts were left to wander. The impending doom of nightfall brought back memories of her previous nightmare, and she started to shake slightly. She was distantly aware of Dr. Harvey reminding someone to cover their mouth when sneezing and Emily talking about a friend that lived in a desert… But mostly, she was back in those woods, running for her life. She was so close to getting away… And then-
"Hey kid," Pam's tired voice startled the farmer so badly, she jumped a couple inches out of her seat. "You're too young to be moping around in a place like this."
"Sorry, Pam," the farmer placed a hand over her heart, breathing deeply as she tried to calm it from her scare. "I was just thinking about something. I'm fine. No moping, see?"
"Alright. If you're sure."
"Positive," she tried to give her best smile, and that seemed to be enough for the woman. Pam moved away without further conversation.
"Did you remember something from before?"
She didn't jump as badly at Dr. Harvey's voice, but her heart started to race again.
"What makes you ask?"
"Nothing, really. You were just lost in thought for a while," he stared into his empty coffee cup, the palm of his hand against his cheek as he leaned into the counter.
"I'm okay," she affirmed. "It's just been a long couple of days. There's a lot to think about, even though I can't remember. I guess I'm thinking about remembering… Wondering what I can't recall."
Dr. Harvey nodded, still staring down at his mug, "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
"I will," she looked around, realizing that everyone was starting to wind down for the evening. "I should probably get some sleep. Gotta get an early start. Best time to do farming work is early in the morning!"
Even she was aware of how falsely chipper her voice was.
"Alright. Have a good night."
"You too, Doctor."
She bid farewell to the others. Mainly Emily and Gus. She tried to say bye to Shane, but he pointedly ignored her. Oh well. Rome wasn't built in a day. She'd keep working at it.
That night, she had very meager offerings by way of what she had foraged throughout the day. In fact, she only had a single horseradish that she had found on her way down to George's house with the leek. However, looking over the cleared space to the side of the cabin, as well as her little garden in the front… She couldn't help but feel satisfied.
The haunted look in her eyes. The way she sat all tucked up, like she wanted to disappear. Harvey had seen it before. That was the look of someone who was remembering something that they didn't want to remember, but…
He didn't want to pry.
He wanted to thank her for the cup of coffee, but the words stuck in his throat. Would it upset her that he knew who had paid for it? Emily had said it was supposed to be secret, but it wasn't hard to guess. The farmer was the only one who had spoken with either Gus or Emily since he'd walked in. Everyone else already had their orders filled.
They sat there like that, side-by-side without a word, for a very long time. It must have been ten to fifteen minutes as he agonized over what to say. How would you comfort someone who couldn't even remember who they were? How could you ask them to trust you and share with you when they barely knew you?
Pam finally interrupted the tense atmosphere by pointing it out, but quickly took the young farmer's denial and left. It was hard to worry about someone else's problem when you had your own…
And yet, he was still kicking himself after she left and he hadn't said anything. He hadn't been able to do anything to help. Whatever was bothering her was clearly personal and not something she wanted to talk about. He could understand that. There were things he didn't like to talk about… or think about… as well.
He felt pretty pathetic knowing his own problems were preventing him from being effective though.
What good was it to be a doctor if you couldn't help people feel better?
Shane stared at the bottom of the cliff, mulling over the evening's events in his mind. He had tried so hard to get her to stay away from him, and yet…
She's just naïve because she doesn't remember what the world is like. Not yet, anyway.
Then again, she had sat there at the bar for quite some time looking about as great as he felt on most days. And after hearing Harvey talk to her, it was clear enough that something was bothering her…
He let out a sigh and stepped back from the edge, crushing a beer can under his foot. He'd been all ready to go for it, but now… Now he was wondering about her. Who was she? Where had she come from? Why did she care so much about what he thought?
But even more than all those thoughts, there was one question he was dying to ask. It was something he couldn't disappear before knowing…
When you forget who you are, does the pain go away?
That's what he was always trying to do, drinking all the beer and keeping everyone away from him. He had to know… Does it fix the darkness? Or does the darkness linger?
Either way, he'd have to ask her himself, one day. So… Until then… Tomorrow would be another day to live.
