Author's Note: So sorry! I know it's been quite a long time since the last update. Turns out going to grad school and teaching full-time don't mix very well when you hit the end of the school year! But it's summer now, so I'm excited to continue this already very long, but just getting started story. However, I am in the middle of the equivalent of a thesis for my Master's degree and going through the process of buying my first house, so don't be too surprised if it's another long while before an update comes. I apologize!
And thank you so much for all the kind reviews! They really help motivate me to return to this, even when I'm busy!
Theme Song: I'm With You - Avril Lavigne
The weather seemed to match the Farmer's mood perfectly. Rain poured from the sky, making the task of getting out of bed even more difficult than it would have been if the sun was out. At least she wouldn't need to water her crops today… Though she did feel bad that Elliott had gone through all that trouble to return her watering can, only for it to rain the next morning.
Elliott.
She let out a groan and pulled the covers over her head. How was she supposed to face him after what happened the night before? She was realizing now that she had definitely overreacted… And he had been so sweet and concerned…
She'd probably have to avoid him forever now… Just to avoid embarrassment.
When she finally did get herself out of bed, she found a letter from Willy sitting in the mailbox. That, at least, helped her feel better.
I've got some new items in stock…
A deluxe fishing pole and some bait that you can attach to it!
You can use bait to make fish bite faster. Hope to see you soon!
-Willy
She'd have to stop by after she checked a few things off of her to-do list. She knew she wanted to try and gather some stone for one of the bundles in the Community Center, and mining would be fairly dry, so long as she stayed away from slimes.
In the end, she gathered a substantial amount of stone, and even found some quartz and copper. She realized a little too late that she had forgotten to bring food with her, but the cave carrots kept her going just fine. She even found another floor with an elevator door, and sure enough, when she pushed the up button, the elevator showed up and took her back to the surface.
While she didn't have enough for the bundle, she still felt fairly accomplished. It was a large task, but if she broke it down into small chunks, she'd manage. Her next task was grabbing new fishing gear from Willy so she'd be better equipped to catch the proper fish for one of the other bundles.
As she headed down the stairs that led into the main part of town, she saw Pam walking by and waved.
"Howdy, kid. Stayin' dry?" Pam responded huskily.
"Trying to," the farmer smiled. "But most of the things I need to get done are outside, so I can't really let the rain bother me too much."
However, by the time she'd finished explaining herself, Pam was gone. The former bus driver hadn't even waited to hear an answer.
"Probably wanted to get out of the rain as soon as possible," the farmer muttered as she continued walking. It was hard not to feel further isolated, but hardly anyone was out and about in the rain. By the time she reached the bridge that led to the beach, she'd been alone with her thoughts for too long.
Not that I don't enjoy it here, but… why hasn't anyone come looking for me yet? Didn't Sebastian say he posted an ad in the paper?
She looked down into the river, watching as the surface rippled under the onslaught of raindrops falling from the sky.
Was I the type of person that no one would miss?
She looked up at the sky with her eyes closed, allowing the rain to mingle with a few tears that had escaped.
Or maybe everyone is glad I'm gone. Maybe… Maybe I was just annoying everyone and my disappearing was a blessing.
"Thought you'd be inside hiding like everyone else."
The farmer jumped, startled, as she turned to face Sebastian. He had his hood pulled over his hair, but there was no mistaking the hoodie it was attached to.
"I thought about it," she admitted. "But I put off all that work for the festival yesterday, so…"
"Doesn't look like you're doing much work," he shrugged, then started to walk towards the beach.
"Wait!" the farmer froze as soon as she said it. "I-I'm sorry. It's nothing. Never mind."
Sebastian paused, "Something I can help you with?"
"I… Uhm…" she searched frantically. She wasn't sure why she'd even asked him to wait. She just hadn't wanted to be left alone on that bridge for a second longer. "I have something for you! Something to say thank you for placing that ad in the newspaper for me…" she quickly dug through her bag until she found a piece of quartz to hand to him. "It's not much…"
Sebastian took the treasure from her gently, his expression softening from a mask of nothing to a soft smile, "Thanks, I like this."
"Y-you do?"
Sebastian nodded, "Did you find it in the mines?"
"Y-yeah! I was there all morning!" the farmer smiled, the weight coming off of her chest a little. "Had to gather stone for a project…"
They stood there silently for a few moments after that. Sebastian seemed to be searching for the right words to say. Or maybe he just didn't have anything to respond to her with.
"I… About the ad. You haven't… You haven't heard back at all, have you?" she asked hopefully.
"No."
"Oh…"
"I'll let you know if I do."
"Yeah… Okay…" she took a deep, shuddery breath. "That's good."
"You're upset."
"I just thought… If I have been missing for weeks now… That if there was someone looking for me, we'd probably have heard back by now," she finally admitted.
"Probably," Sebastian agreed.
"So… I guess… No one's looking for me," she concluded.
Sebastian approached the railing on the bridge and placed his folded arms on it, looking out at the water, "I understand why you're upset. I don't want to be trapped here in Pelican Town either…"
"Oh no!" she quickly looked up, her face turning red. "It's not that. I love it here, actually. The scenery is beautiful and I've met a lot of really amazing people… There's a magic to this valley that's very, very alluring."
"Sure."
"But…" she hung her head. "I'm not sure if… I belong here."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Well, I'm not from here," she looked over at Sebastian, but he was still avoiding eye contact.
"Neither was Elliott or Leah or Harvey…" he shrugged. "They call it home now."
"But they moved here," she insisted. "I just… Showed up one day."
"So?"
"So… What if I'm meant to be somewhere else?"
"But you aren't somewhere else," he shrugged again. "You're here right now."
The farmer stared at him dumbfounded, "Huh?"
"Listen, it's not really my business," Sebastian looked up at the sky. "And I'm probably not the best person to tell you this… But… Maybe it would be better to put more energy into enjoying where you're at now instead of where you feel like you should or could be. Live in the present moment, ya know?"
The farmer paused. Why did it feel like he was talking about himself more than her?
"Just… Sometimes the dreams and memories we make up in our heads aren't really reality," Sebastian explained. "And if there really isn't anyone out there looking for you… If you aren't able to remember who you were… Is it such a bad thing to start discovering who you are now?"
"I guess not…" The farmer replied, feeling dumbfounded. "I guess I never really wanted to think about what would happen if I never found someone who knew who I was. That's such a scary thing to think about."
"But you know who you are," Sebastian finally turned to look at her, a subtle smile touching his facial features. "So… Take some time to trust yourself to remember, alright? Don't stress too much about what could be or what isn't happening."
"I-I guess I can try…" she stammered out.
"Good. And let me know if you need anything," Sebastian pushed away from the railing and started to walk away again, towards the beach.
"W-where are you going?"
"To the docks," he pushed his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. "I like to watch mists from the storm roll across the ocean."
The farmer wasn't sure what to say to that, so she offered a shy farewell, "Have fun then… I was headed to talk with Willy, so I guess I should go do that. Thank you… For stopping to talk with me."
"Anytime."
"If you ever want to talk about anything at all-"
"That won't be necessary," Sebastian waved her off. "I'll be fine. Take care."
The farmer waited a few minutes so she wouldn't have to awkwardly follow Sebastian across the beach. She was already feeling bad about his response to her attempts at discussing what exactly had happened with his father while they were in Zuzu.
Willy gave a friendly wave when she entered his shop, and was even more thrilled when she agreed to pay the 1800 gp to buy a new fishing rod, along with some bait. It pretty much wiped out all of her earnings, but at least now she'd have an easier time catching some of the fish she needed for the junimos.
She had to run home and drop some stuff off before diving into fishing, though. One day she'd be able to buy the coveted new backpack in Pierre's store and be able to carry more around, but for now, she'd have to make do. It wasn't a wasted trip because she found a trilobite for Gunther along the way, and ran into Emily.
"Emily!" The farmer quickly dug through her bag, pulling out the gemstone she had found. "Look!"
"Oh!" Emily hurried over, excitement in her eyes. "You found something in the mines!? Is that an amethyst?"
"I didn't forget my promise to bring something back for you," the farmer handed it over, a big grin on her face. It was hard not to smile when Emily was smiling.
"This gift is fabulous! Thank you so much! I'm running late for work, but this is amazing! I'll see you later!"
"See ya!" The farmer gave a friendly wave and turned back to her fishing.
She hadn't planned on spending the whole day going back and forth between the river and the ocean, but before she knew it, the sun had set and it was starting to get dark. She'd managed to catch a shad and an eel, both of which were on the junimos list… But the thing that had kept her there all day was the catfish.
She'd had more than four or five latch onto her hook. She could see them in the water. Unfortunately, try as she might, she could not seem to get one onto dry land before it managed to unhook itself and get away. It became almost an obsession, trying to catch one before it got too late.
Eventually, it was too dark to really see what she was doing though… And she had to call it quits. Willy was walking back from the saloon and gave her a thumbs up as she tried one last time and failed to be successful. With a huff of annoyance, she started the trek to the community center, exhaustion creeping into her bones. She was so tired, she didn't bother hailing Pam or Clint as they also left the saloon. Pam seemed pretty hammered anyway, and Clint… Well… Clint looked losts in his own thoughts.
When she finally got home, she barely had the energy to toss all the fish into the shipping crate and store some other odds and ends in a wooden chest. It had been a rough few days, and she had failed to obtain something she needed for the junimos… But she'd seen some success too. The only truly negative thought on her mind was that she'd failed to find a gratitude gift to apologize to Elliott with. Nothing she'd found seemed fitting…
It's alright. You have time. You didn't even see him today, so don't stress. You'll get there eventually. For now, let's get some rest. Tomorrow is a new day!
