*Chapter 4 started on 7/27/20. Finally. XD After creating this text document on 11/26/19 and never writing a thing in it. :'D Ah well. Here we go.
*Continued writing on 1/17/21.
*Continued writing some more on 11/30/21.
*Continued writing even more on 1/12/22. Finished on 1/13/22. Good job me. ;w;
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns. This is a work of fanfiction written purely for entertainment.
"Welp. Here we are, Holly. This is your farm."
Well... This had not been exactly what she'd been envisioning, Holly thought as she walked up toward the old farm house, only making a brief sound of acknowledgement in response to her uncle's words, as her attention was almost wholly focused on the structure. Coming to a stop in front of it, Holly crossed her arms over her chest, studying her new house. Well, she mused, "new" was a very loose term here. As was "house", if she were being completely honest. Frankly, the building looked more like a shack than a house, built with dark, old wood that clearly had seen better days. Still, it was evident that the place had been worked on to prepare for her arrival. The yard was quite large, with plenty of soil to work with when she wished to start planting crops, and any overgrown grass in the immediate vicinity had been cut down to a managable level, for which the girl with no lawnmower was grateful.
She'd also been told on the way over about two more equally massive fields on her property, both being much further out past the first field, though they were currently overgrown, and quite a bit of work would need to be done in order to get them cleared and ready for use. Still, Holly mused, there was plenty of time for all that. There was even a chicken coop and a barn in the main yard, closest to the house. While both buildings were old, according to her uncle, they had both been thoroughly cleaned, and were still entirely servicable for any animals she might want to get even now. And to be fair, buildings could be touched up, renovated, improved upon. This was just the beginning. The place wasn't perfect, no. But it had potential, she decided. And it was hers.
Uncle Frank sauntered over to her side, putting his free right hand on his hip as he looked up at the house with her. In his left he was carrying a thick burlap sack, part of it slung over his shoulder, the lip tied with a length of twine. Whatever was inside it sounded kind of metallic, but when she had asked him what was in there on their way over, he'd simply responded with a vague "You'll see." His tone had been just cryptic and mysterious enough to make her interested in whatever he was carrying in the bag.
"The space overall is nice and big, I'd say," Frank mused. "Lot's 'o land out here, just like I told ya. House is... older, over twenty years at least. It's a little small, I know, but, ya know, houses can be renovated and such." Holly nodded, having had the same thought. The old, sad little building really didn't look like much now, but in time, one day, perhaps it could be something amazing. Think big, Holly, she told herself.
Frank turned around to face the yard, gesturing at it with an outstretched arm. "The people working to prepare the farm for ya had a lot on their plate. Land's been untended for a couple decades now, ya see. The house, barn and coop were not in the best shape, but they've been cleaned and repaired where needed as best as could be done. Even the barn and coop should be safe enough now to house some animals whenever you're ready to buy some. I inspected 'em m'self." Grinning, he folded his arms across his chest.
"'Course, you'll prob'ly wanna be getting them upgraded as soon as ya can. Westown don't have a carpenter or anythin' like that, but there's a fine jack-of-all-trades out in Lulukoko, just a few hours away, down by the ocean. Name's Ludus. He'd be your go-to for getting any buildings built or upgraded. He can even build and repair your tools if they break, or even make 'em stronger. Boy knows what he's doin'.
"Unfortunately, the road to Lulukoko is closed right now for maintanence. As is the road to the other town in between Lulukoko and Westown, called Tsuyukusa. Unfortunately, a bad storm blew through a couple weeks back, and it messed up them roads pretty bad. Westown's road thankfully took only mild damage that was quickly cleared up within a few days, but the others... Broken roads, fallen trees, debris, flooding in some of the lower areas in the road to Tsuyukusa... It's gonna take a while to get it all fixed up again. Prob'ly a few months, at least." Holly felt a pang of disappointment at this news. She'd have to wait a few months before she could actually get going on any renovations?
That was... unfortunate indeed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Frank watching her, his expression rather apologetic, and she shook her head, inclining it towards him and offering him a small smile. "It's no one's fault, though, right? No one can control the weather. I'm sure they'll get things fixed up as soon as they can."
Frank's eyebrows rose in slight surprise at her positive response, and smiled at his niece's words of understanding. "Yeah, that's right." He grinned down at her. "Anyways, what with gettin' started here, preppin' the land for plantin' and maybe looking into some livestock, I'm sure you'll have plenty on your plate to do. You'll be so busy you won't even worry 'bout renovations for a while."
Holly made a small, noncommittal hum of agreement, imagining that she'd still long for renovations and upgrades even while waiting for the other two towns to become open to her, but, who knew? Perhaps Uncle Frank was right, and she would soon be caught up with so much work that she wouldn't even worry about renovations for a while.
And honestly, the anticipation she felt when she thought of the work ahead of her surprised even her in its sudden intensity. Sure, she'd been looking forward to this all her life, but to finally be able to get her dream started, here and now... It felt almost... surreal.
Abruptly, she turned and wrapped her arms around her uncle in a hug. A real, genuine hug, unforced and uninfluenced by unusual town customs. "Thank you, Uncle Frank." She didn't see the surprised look on the man's face, nor the soft smile it turned into, but she felt his low chuckle resonate deep in his chest, and felt him bring an arm around her in turn, patting her gently on the back.
"Think nothin' of it, Holly. We're family. Family helps family, no matter what. B'sides, even if we weren't related, us Westowners take care of our own." He squeezed her back for a moment before loosening his hold, and she pulled back, a little embarrassed at her sudden show of affection when they were only just getting to know each other, though she still couldn't help but return the smile he was sending her way. He let her go with a slight clearing of his throat, possibly a bit embarrassed too, though he seemed happy. "Now, most of the overgrowth that was in this area has been removed, though, ya might find a few sticks n' stones still left, and I know for a fact we couldn't get all the weeds out. Still, ya might find some interestin' herbs n' such like mint or chamomile growin' wild, too. You can use 'em for teas an' such, and I'm sure they've got other uses as well. Doctor's always puttin' in requests for herbs." He gestured around them, the mushy moment apparently over, and back to business. Holly nodded, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for such things. Frank cleared his throat again, and she looked up at him. "Well, I should be gettin' back to my farm soon enough, but I wanted to give you somethin' first."
Interest piqued, Holly watched as Frank pulled the burlap sack from his left shoulder and began untying it, reaching in with his free hand once he'd loosened the twine. To her surprised delight, he began pulling out tools and handing them to her. First a watering can, then a sickle, the blade of which he had wrapped in an old cloth for safety's sake, that he handed over with the utmost caution, and, last but not least, an axe, big enough for chopping down smaller trees, its blade also wrapped in cloth and carefully passed to her. The tools were clearly worn from use, but still looked to be in good enough condition to serve their respective purposes.
"Here's some tools to get ya started on stuff. Sickle's for cutting grass n' some crops, o' course. Careful usin' it, very sharp," he gently warned as he pointed each tool out. Holly nodded, carefully shifting the tools in her arms, holding them with respect. "Same with the axe. This'll handle most of the smaller trees around here with little trouble, if there's any you'll be wantin' to take down. And of course, the waterin' can is for waterin' your crops. You got a hoe too," he added with a grin, and gestured to her little house. It took her a moment to notice it, propped up against the far side of the building. Hidden, apparently, where she wouldn't have been able to spot it upon first arriving on the property.
She turned back to him, clutching the tools in her hands excitedly and beaming. "Wow, Uncle Frank! You didn't need to do this! Thanks so much!" Truthfully, she'd had yet to go out and buy her own farming tools, and had figured that she'd have to run into town to get them, and find a way to cart them all back on her own, so the fact that he was gifting her some tools to help her get started, this was a huge help.
Frank chuckled again, and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, well, I had 'em lyin' around and I wasn't usin' 'em anymore, so I figured they'd be helpful for you, and you won't need to buy new tools for a while. With any luck, you won't need a tool upgrade or replacement till Lulukoko opens back up and you can talk to Ludus. Oh, and one more thing." Reaching into the pocket of his overalls, he fished out something that looked like a small paper packet. And, indeed, that was what it was. "Gotcha a packet of radish seeds to start with. Spring's the best time to grow 'em." He gave the packet a cheerful little shake, and Holly could hear the little seeds rustling about inside. "Lemme show ya how to get them goin' before I head home. Go on over there, set your other tools down, 'sides the waterin' can, an' grab that hoe, too. Bring 'em back and we'll find a good spot to get started."
Holly would never have thought she would be this excited about a packet of radish seeds, but she was. "Okay!" Heading up to the porch of her little house, she carefully laid the axe and sickle down on the porch, grasped the watering can by its handle, swiped the hoe from its place leaning against the side of the house, and practically bounded back down to join her uncle as he started off into the yard, in search of the perfect patch of dirt. "Let's plant some radishes!"
=Entry 3, March 3rd, Year 1
Hey! It's me again! Holly Heiss, the owner of this journal who will never let anyone else read it so I still don't know why I'm introducing myself in every entry, but hey! Here I am.
Sooo... I bet you can't wait to hear the exciting news... Well, dismissing the fact that you're a journal and thus cannot hear or anticipate anything... Hehe... I've got my new farm! YAAAY!
It's HUGE, too! Well, the three massive fields that make up the property are apparently huge. Two of them are actually unable to be used at the moment because they are so overgrown, but I can get to them eventually. No worries! The farmhouse itself is on a little hill overlooking the first big field, which houses a barn and chicken coop, and is mostly cleared of debris. The house is over twenty years old, and more of a shack than a house, really, but I can get it renovated later. The barn and chicken coop are in pretty decent shape, considering the years of neglect, though I want to renovate them too. After the road to Lulukoko, one of the neighboring towns, opens up, of course. Apparently there was a bad storm recently, and the roads to Lulukoko and Tsuyukusa, the other town, are gonna be closed a while longer for repairs. But it's okay. I'll have a lot to do in the meantime, I'm sure.
Uncle Frank gave me some tools and radish seeds and showed me how to till the land and plant them! I'm really excited to watch them sprout and grow! And Uncle Frank also told me that he thinks the barn and coop could be used as soon as I want! And I'm not gonna lie. I REALLY want to buy some animals soon! Also, I need to come up with a name for my farm. Uncle Frank suggested it, and, really, if I'm going to be producing and selling things eventually from my farm, I think it deserves a name. So... really got to give this some thought... Something cool and inspiring... Something peppy, but not too... I dunno... Not too childish or anything. Something that people remember. Hmmm... I just don't know what. I don't really want it to be anything too long. Maybe one word. A word not used everyday. Hmmm...
Note to Self: Buy a dictionary. And get internet hooked up out here ASAP.
But yeah. Been tilling the land most of the day after Uncle Frank went home, so my arms are kind of tired now. I probably should get to bed soon. I did get a little bed set up for me in the new not-so-new house, so I'm good on that front. Plus, early to bed, early to rise, right? And if I'm gonna be making the most of my time, I need to get started as early in the day as possible. I think tomorrow, I'm gonna head into town and see about buying more seeds to plant and stuff. Maybe one of the shops will have that dictionary, haha! And I'll keep working on thinking of a name for my farm.
Until tomorrow, goodnight, Journal!
A/N: Welp... It somehow took me a little over three years to update this story again. :'D Well, at least it's not as bad as the seven years it took for me to post Chapter 7 of my Happy Feet fanfic after Chapter 6. ;w; Yes, I may be terrible about procrastinating writing, but I do not intend to abandon my stories, ever. w Just glad to finally continue this one, too. I really enjoyed playing this game (honestly, I haven't played it for quite some time, I should get back on and see where I left off with little miss Holly X3), and I am excited to write out Holly's story. And if there's anyone who has stuck around to continue reading, I hope you're enjoying it.
I appreciate any and all feedback and constructive criticism (polite, of course). And maybe it's a little late to say this because it's already January 13th, but Happy New Year 2022, everyone! I know it's been a hell of a last couple of years with 2020 and 2021, but I choose to be hopeful about this one. I hope each and every one of you is staying safe out there! I know I can't tell you guys what to do, but I just want to encourage everyone to keep doing their best to stay safe! Please remember to observe social distancing, wear your masks, get your vaccines and boosters if you haven't yet, and hopefully we'll beat this pandemic sooner rather than later.
Positive thoughts and vibes for this new year! Take care, all of you, sorry for the wait, and thank you so much for taking the time to read my silly little fanfics! :)