Years ago, it was a widespread belief in communities that children had an inherent spiritual disposition that allowed them to see and interact with tiny elf-like magical beings. These magical beings were called Harvest Sprites and were believed to be helpers for the Harvest Goddess, a deity who was believed to bring farmers good fortune and watch over their crops, animals, and land.

Only children were spiritually in tune enough to see these beings, however, as they grew older they would lose this ability and any memories of any meetings with such beings. The Harvest Goddesses existence was like a river, bumpy at times, but still flowing onwards. There was a time when the Harvest Goddess had many dedicated followers from around the globe, and many festivals were created in honour of their patron. Over time the farmers forgot their patron. National holidays were soon abandoned and replaced with new ones that suited the modern age, only rural communities continued to celebrate the ways of the old. No one recognised the Harvest Goddess and her bountiful love for the land.

It is believed that there are individuals out there who are able to see beings such as the Harvest Goddess and Sprites despite being fully grown. These individuals had a gift, and the Harvest Goddesses' warmth would shine upon them. There are stories out there of these individuals using their gift to give new life into the now tired lands and to help the Goddess in her duties.

Of course, such beliefs are probably just mere fairy tales. Bedtime stories that are passed down through generations like a game of Chinese whispers.

"I'm sorry, Birdie," I mumbled as a placed the chicken back safely into her coop. After finding that some of my crops had been uprooted and destroyed, I had rushed to check that Birdie was okay. I didn't want to believe someone would hurt her but then again I never thought someone would come onto my farm and destroy anything. When I got to Birdie's coop I found that the gate door to her pen had been opened.

The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. "Birdie?" I glanced around desperately. Birdie had a habit of running off too far if she's let out of her pen and I felt overwhelmed at the thought of having to find her. What if she'd gone too far and had gotten hurt? She was my responsibility and if my dad was to find out about this my hopes of continuing to live here would be doomed.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve and trekked around the farm trying to search for my missing chicken. "Birdie, come here girl!" I called out desperately, I felt stupid for calling out for her as if she was a dog but I didn't know what to do. After walking around the perimeter of the farm multiple times I eventually, to my relief, found Birdie inside a hedge pecking at worms.

"B-Birdie! There you are!" I squeaked in between letting out sobs, I had gotten myself into a state. I crawled underneath the hedge too clumsily and cut myself on a thorn down my forearm. I yelped out, I was beginning to become irritated with how this day was going. I gently grabbed Birdie and pulled her out of the hedge. I blubbed into her feathers as I carried her back over to the pen. "I-I... I thought... You were gone..." The poor chicken thought I was some crazy woman.

When I had returned Birdie to her coop I sat on the floor beside her petting her. I was afraid to walk outside and back past the ruined patch of crops. I didn't know what to do. Do I distance myself from Wayne to prevent this from happening in the future? But then again, why should I when we're just acquaintances? "I don't know..." I said aloud to Birdie. She cocked her head and then continued to peck happily at the chicken food I had scattered on the floor. I felt defeated.

I could hear my mums voice in my head. At times like this, she'd say the same thing she always did, "Winners never quit, quitters never win." when I felt this way. She'd then give me a cuddle and bake my sister and I cookies. I missed my mum, I wish I could talk to her about this but I knew that if I send her a letter there'd be a risk of my dad seeing it and thinking he was right all along.

"Nanami?" A voice called out from outside. I glanced up startled, I was on edge since what had happened and I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. I stood up slowly and walked towards to door, contemplating whether or not I should pick up the pitchfork beside the door just in case one of the crazy fans had come back again. When I exited the coop I found Ford, the harsh doctor I had been introduced to a few days ago, standing outside the coop.

"Ah, good evening, Nanami. I just came to-" He paused and adjusted his glasses, "Good grief, what happened to your arm?" I glanced down at my forearm, a deep gash had been left there where I had caught it against the thorn and the skin was covered with dried blood.

"Oh, I caught it in a thorn bush..." I stared at the floor shyly, ever since our first meeting I had felt awkward around Ford. I felt like a child who was about to get scolded whenever I was in his presence. Ford signed, "Please allow me to take a look at your arm. If I don't clean it with an antimicrobial substance it'll become infected."

Ford had left his medical kit, which he carried around with him at all times when venturing outside of the clinic, besides the mailbox. We made our way over to the farmhouse to collect it and then sat inside at my tiny table. "The sooner you allow me to take care of this, the sooner it'll be over with," Ford said in a monotone voice as I had pulled my arm away in pain. I reluctantly held it out again and gripped the edge of my seat with my other hand as he applied antiseptic wipes to it and bandaged my arm up.

"In my experience, crawling into thorn bushes does not have a positive outcome. Why would you act foolishly?" he asked as he stared intently at my arm.

"Oh... I didn't crawl into the bush naively... Someone had come into my farm and let my chicken out of her pen. She was hiding in a bush because there were worms there so I had to climb inside to get her, other wise she would have gotten startled and ran off..."

Ford raised his eyebrow, "I see. You should be more cautious next time."

I glanced up. "Thanks for your help... What were you doing on my farm, anyway? Did you need something?"

Ford looked back down at his work. "Wayne inferred that I was rude the other afternoon when we met. He stated that I was insulting and suggested that I acted more friendly towards others, so I came here to express my apologises. While it was never my intention to insult you, I'm aware I can sometimes say things in a very... blunt manner."

I relaxed slightly and smiled reassuringly, "Oh it's no problem, really... Thank you for stopping by." Ford secured the bandage on my arm, I made a mental note that I'd have to wear long sleeves until it was ready to come off to avoid Frank noticing and informing my father. Frank was a good guy and had helped me out a lot since I arrived here, but knowing he was updating my father frequently made me feel slightly paranoid. I just wanted to do a good job and prove my father I am capable of achieving what I set my mind to, I didn't want something like this to make him doubt me.

Once Ford had finished he stood up and packed his supplies back into his medical kit. "Come by my clinic in a week and I'll reassess the progress your arm has made. If possible you should avoid climbing into bushes in the future." He turned around and scanned my shack, all that filled it was a small bed, a table, and a chest. "You should also take more care with the cleanliness of this place. There's dried mud beside the door and there are multiple particles of dust present which isn't good for the respiratory system."

I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow, for what the place was and considering the condition it had been in I thought it was okay. "Why are you so fond of cleanliness?" I asked. I could still remember Wayne's inspection on how clean I was the day he introduced me to Ford.

Ford sighed. "Why am I fond of cleanliness? You ask the most insane questions, don't you? But if you truly wish to know... My mother was a person who simply couldn;t stay organised. One day, thanks to the clutter she left about, our house caught fire. From that day since I find I cannot be comfortable in a room that's not clean and tidy." He sounded cold and detached when he spoke of his mother, it made me curious about him but at the same time, a wave of guilt hit me. I felt bad for intruding on something that had such personal significance, even if I was expecting him to shrug me off or say something different.

I didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry to hear that... Thank you for helping me out, Ford."

Ford nodded curtly, "Please don't hesitate to come to my clinic for you feel unwell. I'll see you soon."

Perhaps Ford was more human than I previously thought.

I pulled my cardigan more closely around me and shivered. For the past few days I had stayed on the farm, not daring to venture out in fear of coming back to ruined crops again. I knew what happened shouldn't have caused me to hide, but I wanted to wait until the crops that hadn't been destroyed were fully grown. This morning I was pleased to find that the remaining strawberries Wayne had bought had finally sprouted. Whilst I had shipped most of them I saved some aside to gift to Frank, Wayne, and Ford. They had all helped me out in one way or another since I arrived and I figured gifting this as a small token of my gratitude would be nice.

Whilst I had gotten a lot of work completed on the farm these past few days, such as cleaning up stumps and rocks, I had missed taking my daily walk into Westown. This evening I had reassured myself that nothing was going to happen if I left the farm to take a stroll and had ventured into the night to take in the calming surroundings around me.

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that engulfed the town. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of blackness. I sat on the damp grass beside the lake just out of the town center and took in my surroundings. The lake glistened, mirroring the dazzling assemblage of glittering stars. The faint wind brushed against the water's surface. This is why moving here was no mistake, you'd never see the stars so clearly or find a spot so peaceful in the city.

"La la la dee dah!" I heard a voice sing joyfully. I stood up startled and glanced around behind me. I expected everyone to be in bed. There was no one on the grass behind me. Perhaps I was hearing things... "Oh, I'm so happy! Back here at last!" The voice came from the direction of the water, I looked over and covered my mouth quickly. A small girl was walking on the water, twirling and skipping without falling in. I rubbed my eyes and look again. She was still there. I must have been hallucinating. The girl had green hair like forest leaves and yellow flowers threaded through her braids. It reminded me of how Lisette always wore her hair, only Lisette was an adult and as far as I knew didn't walk on water.

"It was my own fault for messing up that spell that I had to, um.. leave..." The girl frowned and held onto her floral staff tightly, she suddenly smiled and looked determined. "But now that's all over and I can go back to doing my guardian work! I can't wait to get started!" I shivered and took a step back. Was I seeing a ghost? This girl seemed so real yet what I was witnessing was impossible. The girl turned and looked in my direction, I froze. "Hm?" She cocked her head in a birdlike manner, "I don't recall seeing that mortal around here before. I wonder what your name is. Abracadabra!" She pointed her staff at me and suddenly my body felt warm and tingly, there was a white flash and suddenly the sensation was gone.

"Oh, so it's Nanami Ito? I see I see. Relative of Mr. Frank's... Is working to become a great farmer... Has a crush on a local postman. Interesting, interesting."

My jaw dropped. "No, I don't!" I blurted out. I covered my mouth with my hands quickly.

"Aha!" The girl exclaimed, "You can see and hear me! Wow, it's been decades and decades since I last got to speak with a mortal." So this... being standing in front of me wasn't a little girl after all? She twirled and curtsied, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I live in this river, and it's my job to watch over and protect the little town of Westown. I'm very new in my duties as guardian, so I'm sure I won't get everything just right, but I hope we can still be friends. Oh! And I am a deity, so I have all kinds of nitty magic powers."

I gripped onto a nearby branch, trying to steady myself. I didn't know what to say or how to react.

Dessie cocked her head again and frowned slightly, "Did I startle you? I'm sorry." She walked closer to me and smiled, "Usually only very young children can see beings like me. The Harvest Goddess must have blessed you with a gift! You're very special, Nanami."