Part 1: The Season of Beginnings
Spring 1, 22:03 (10:03 pm) Dear Diary,
What a day! I've never been so exhausted in my entire life – or so excited! I have finally made to Meadow Farm, and it hasn't changed a bit since I was last here… Well, maybe a little. But I'll get to that later.
I arrived in the mountainside of Echo Village early in the morning, dropped off by some friends of my father. The scenery was BEAUTIFUL! You don't get such vibrant flowers or such green grass in the city. There were bright patches of pink and purple daises all along the path to the village, so I stopped to pick some as a little housewarming gift for myself. Out of nowhere, I see this old man, maybe in his fifties, dressed like a cowboy, stumbling out of the woods. He could barely stand, and I heard him whisper, "Uhhh… help…!" before passing out.
I didn't know what to do! I just stood there panicking over this old man's body, not sure if I should leave him to get help or drag him back to town (mind you, he was quite heavy). As a last resort, I gave him some water from my rucksack, and stood back, hoping it would revive him. To my amazement, and relief, he opened his eyes, got up from the ground and dusted himself off like nothing had happened. He must've noticed my shock at his recovery, and he gave me a sly smile.
"Sorry about that, must've keeled over in the heat. I was just searching for food and… hey, wait a minute! You wouldn't happen to be Olivia?"
I was surprised, to say the least. Not able to speak, I nodded.
"Ah, excellent! I thought I could see some family resemblance! Say, didn't your ol' dad tell ya 'bout me? Oh, how silly, I haven't even said my name! I'm Dunhill, Mayor of Echo Village and temporary newspaper delivery man at your service. You're dad sent me a letter telling me all about you." He gave a little nod of his big, brown cowboy hat.
Finally gathering my thoughts together, I remember Dad mentioning him to me before I had left. "Oh yes, Dad told me about you! Nice to meet you Mr. Dunhill!"
"Please, I will not allow such fancy titles of Mr. or Mayor, I was born Dunhill and that's how it will always be! Now, why don't you follow me and I'll take you to town."
And with that, we made our way to the village. We talked about how Dad was doing, how excited he was to welcome me to his town and how someone was finally going to bring the farm back to life. I asked him why no one had taken over the farm after Dad left.
"Well, you know how your daddy is. He bought that farm on a gut feeling that he could whip it into shape, but then things got in the way and he had to leave. He still came back from time to time to work the land, but now that your all big and grown, he can pass it down to you!"
"What things got in the way?" I could tell he was uncomfortable, and suddenly it hit me. "Oh, I get it, I made him abandon his farm…"
"Now hold on a darn second, that's not true! He would've been happy to raise you up on the farm, but when you were born, your momma's family threw a fit and demanded that the pair of them got married right away. After marrying your mom, your poppa had to get a job to support the two of you, and farming just wasn't going to cut it. And then…" He got quiet.
"My mother died."
Dunhill sighed and took off his hat in reminiscence. "She was a good woman. I met her a handful of times, always a pleasure to see her. No matter what happened she was a wreath of smiles, to the very end… And we're here!"
Now, Dad had told me Echo village wasn't what it use to be, but the only way I can describe it is "ghost town". There were several buildings, some of which seemed empty, and the streets were vacant. I tried to see if there were some houses blocked from my view, but no, what I saw was what I got.
Dunhill saw me searching for more. "Now, I know this isn't as fancy as any big city but…"
"No! I mean, this is perfect! I love it Dunhill, really I do. True, it's a little small, but I didn't expect, nor do I want, some fancy city. I want a nice, peaceful town, and that's exactly what I see." The words worked their magic, and Dunhill gave me a big goofy smile.
"Aw shucks…"
And after that, he walked me to my farm a little up the hill. He promised to show me around town tomorrow, and teach me some of the basics of farming. He also gave me this diary, and told me I should write in my adventures before I go to sleep and forget them.
And now, I'm home! It's nice, really it truly is. It's not like the small gardens I'm so use to in the city, it's a huge lot with grass and trees and lots of room for farming! And there's a barn for cows and sheeps and other animals I guess. The house is nice, there's a kitchen and a wardrobe and a bookshelf FULL of books already. I've got a calendar with the town's festivals and my bed is really nice. Maybe it's just the excitement from the day, but I have these butterflies in my stomach that won't disappear. That must be my queue to head to bed, I feel confident that I'll get a full night's sleep.
Goodnight!
- Olivia
Dear [Olivia's father],
How refreshing it was to meet your daughter after nearl 20 years! I nearly couldn't believe my eyes! And she looks just like yer late wife, the same genteelness about her. She's in safe hands so there is no need to worry; she loved the farm! I never seen someone so excited about a piece of land ('cept maybe you when you first bought it).
I am quite confident that she'll get on fine here. You know how it is these days, no one wants to stay here anymore, people are leaving the town in flocks! But I know that yer lovely, hard-working daughter can breathe some life back into this ol' town. I taught her how to use the basic tools, and she's already planted some crops. One of the old townsfolk, Rebecca's her name, sent me a letter telling me she wants to move back. That's all fine and dandy, but she doesn't have a house. I plan on enlisting Olivia to help me build her a house, just to see if she has a knack for this kinda o' thing.
I'll update you later on how she's getting on, but I'm sure she's sending you letters too! Tell me how've ya been? Maybe I could tempt you out for a visit if yer feeling up to it?
-Dunhill