Natalie glanced around the broken, lost town. The buildings were dark, dreary, and full of insects and small wildlife. One of the nearer homes had a bunch of weeds sprouting through the worn-out floorboards. She immediately shut the door on that house. However, the houses further into the town looked salvageable and in fair condition.
"These houses look in pretty good shape actually," she commented, fixing her headband.
Elliot pushed on the door, disappointed that it didn't work smoothly. "Are you so sure, Nat?"
She passed him a glare. "Just because it's a little beat up doesn't mean it doesn't work," she remarked. "I think we should take this one."
Elliot grimaced, wishing he could say he would prefer the house on the other side of the town, but he refused to argue with her...or anyone.
"C'mon. Let's go tell Gramps the news," she announced, marching away.
Elliot frowned, picking at the flaky wood on the door. "Hey," he called before reluctantly catching up with her. "Uh, how long do you think these have been here?"
"I don't know," she replied bluntly. Her pink-haired brother sighed and followed her back to the beach where their grandfather and mother were still resting.
They stepped onto the beach and peered out at their family. Taro stomped around with adventurous intentions in mind. His daughter, Felicia, sat peacefully in the sand, looking out to the now calm ocean. The sun rose in the distance along with a ship casually sailing away from the island.
"Woah! Wait! Do you guys see that ship?" Elliot asked, panicked.
"Yes, and the captain just left on it. Now, how is the island?" Taro demanded, placing his hands on his old, feeble hips. His face expressed his old age, but his spirit was of a young man. He wore a pleased grin as Elliot's face fell.
"Some of the buildings look rough, but we found some that'll work," Natalie said.
"Ah. No inhabitants?"
"Other than animals, no," she confirmed, curling back her lips despondently.
The old man nodded. "I see. So we have a lot of work to do."
Felicia sighed and interrupted. "Yes, but you shouldn't have let them go out on their own. You know they're young."
"We're adults, mom, we can handle ourselves," Elliot mumbled. Natalie reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"Oh, but you're still inexperienced and I don't want you two getting hurt," their mother insisted. Natalie rolled her eyes and stepped away. Elliot just accepted it.
Since they landed on the island, Taro's mind was set on making it a prosperous community. The captain, who wouldn't even mention his own name, just sat and wilted on the beach while the others passed out elsewhere. Elliot was certain they were going to fail at this, considering they only had five people. No - four people. The captain was no better than a rotting leaf when they woke, and Taro sent him on his way as soon as a boat pulled into the shallow water. Natalie and Elliot scampered off to go check out the island and found the ghost town.
"Have faith in them, Felicia. Now, I believe this island needs a name... Sunny Island!" he proposed with a glance at the sun.
Natalie shrugged and plopped down in the sand next to a slimy, seaweed-infested rock. "That's it? Sounds fine, I guess."
Elliot whirled away from them and started down the beach. He kicked at the sand, sending it spraying up into the air, onto his boots. Shells were scatter amongst the shoreline, and the remains of a dock waved in the water, attached to the land with only a single board. His eyes trailed the water's edge and settled on some discolored algae-like material. He stepped up to it and began tossing the vibrant green plant away from the pile skittishly. His hand closed over a large amount of the stuff and pulled it away, revealing something uncanny.
He fell back on his palm, aghast. Was that... He peaked back over the pile.
"NATALIE!" he screamed, struggling to get to his feet. "GUYS!"
Natalie only glanced in his direction, but Taro and Felicia were more serious.
"G-guys! There's a," he stammered, "there's a body!"
Natalie laughed evilly, unbelieving. His mother gasped, "What!"
"It's - It's a girl. On the beach. She's..." he breathed.
Natalie hopped up quickly, wanting to show up her little brother. She carefully, mockingly wandered over to the pile of seaweed and emitted a strict shriek in alarm, jumping back on her toes as if the sand was on fire.
"No, wait," the girl cautioned quietly. The girl, coated thickly in rich sea life, breathed. Her chest rose and fell ever-so-slightly, signaling life. "She's breathing! Gramps, Elliot, get over here."
The two rushed over to the pale-skinned female and tore her from the tide. They placed her seemingly lifeless body on the sand. Felicia urgently stopped at her side, cradling her face protectively in her hands.
"Do you think she was from the boat?" Elliot asked inanely. With his words, her breaths became more shallow, more desperate. Felicia mumbled, terrified, under her breath.
"We need to perform CPR!" Taro shouted anxiously, anything but concerned. Natalie return with a sharp glare, and Elliot froze nervously, no longer worried with his question. "Elliot!" He commanded. "You know. Hop to it!"
To Elliot's relief, the girl quickly spat out the remaining water in her lungs and cringed uncomfortably. She righted herself, sputtering, gripping her stomach as if recoiling from a blow. Her eyelids fluttered and her bleary gaze landed on Elliot. The only thing she could determine, however, was the pink blur of his hair and the giant blue smear of his garb.
"Oh, thank the goddess," Felicia said, relieved. The brunette girl blinked frantically for her sight to clear, and luckily, it did so in only seconds. However, her head continuously burned from the sea water.
She glanced at Felicia questioningly, confused and pained.
"How do you feel, dear?" the woman asked tenderly.
The girl's voice came out hoarse and crackly, ignoring Felicia. "Where am I?"
"Sunny Island!" Taro announced proudly.
Her gaze dropped to the ground and followed up and down her arms, covered by sleeves. The misunderstanding was apparent on her astonished face. She looked distant.
"What's your name?" Felicia asked softly.
"Name?" she repeated, her voice growing clearer. "My name?"
"Yes."
She shook her head. "I don't know."
Natalie knelt next to the girl, staring into her reddened eyes. "You're Chelsea, aren't you?"
"Chelsea? I don't know," she replied. "I don't remember."
"Hey Mom," Natalie asked, "do you think near-drowning can cause amnesia?"
Felicia contemplated for a moment. "I believe any type of damage to the brain can result in memory loss."
"Yep," the young, pink-haired woman rose affirmatively. "Then you are definitely Chelsea."
"Okay. Well, what do I do?" Her glances around for answers were unsatisfied immediately - no one knew what to do yet.
Well, that was, until Taro came running back around the beach with a devious look in his eye. No one had realized he was gone, and he was only gone for what seemed like a minute. He grabbed Chelsea's arm and yanked her along, oblivious of the pleas of protest from Felicia. He practically dragged her through the town at a speed that was unbelievable for a man of his age. Her feet refused to move correctly, her mind couldn't register the ground beneath her quickly enough, and she had absolutely no thought on what they were doing or where he was taking her.
Taro stopped abruptly and released Chelsea, causing her to fly into the ground and knock her head. "Uh," she groaned, seeing stars. "I'm so dizzy."
"Well, snap out of it, because you are going to be the new farmer here!" Taro demanded, plucking her off the ground with incredible strength that nearly took her off her feet.
"Farm?" she mutter dazedly as she straightened herself and brushed her damp hair from her face.
"Yes! You are going to help us turn this island around. It's your destiny, Chelsea!"
Her eyes narrowed at him, not completely focused on his figure. "Who are you?"
"Taro! I have run a shipping business and want to move it to this island and ship the things you produce! This place will become prosperous and amazing once again!" He sighed happily. It was like he didn't care for her questions, and he was only there for his own benefit and adventurous spirit.
She laughed. It was a nice laugh, one Taro hadn't expected.
"I can't run a farm," she stated, a tone of humor lining her voice.
"Oh yes you can, and you will! That's why you're here!"
She furrowed her brow and glanced at the fields, drinking in the sight for the first time. Everything was green - actual green. She wasn't sure why the green appealed to her, but it certainly did, along with the debris-covered plots, grassy land, the river running downstream, the forested land surrounding the property. The river hummed a melodic tune and the wind sang in her ears. Every littered object was just another note to the symphony, and the farmhouse, which stood before the farm, rang like a crashing cymbal, beginning the climax of the piece.
Before melting into a puddle of awe, Chelsea turned to Taro who was quietly boasting to himself about his persuasive skills and announced:
"I'll do it."
"Great! I knew you would say that! Now, I have some contacting to do!" he piped and darted away.
And then Chelsea was left with her farm. Just by the why he spoke, she knew it was hers now. This place was her home, and nowhere else could match it.
She had felt a strange connection the moment she had laid eyes on the scene, something warming. All this debris and garbage was just another piece of what was now hers, and she loved it.
Her feet carried her into the plot where she began to pick at the weeds. For some reason, the thought of work was enchanting. Her mind was already constructing the future of the farm, full of fruit, livestock, poultry... everything she would have if she worked on this farm.
Most people would want to check out the farmhouse before anything else, but not this Chelsea. She just wanted the plot empty and ready. For hours she yanked weeds out of their dirt homes, lugged logs and rocks out of the way, dumping them in the river, and cleared the area of any other unwanted rubbish.
She took her sleeve and wiped the sweat from her brow. The sunset was looming overhead, but she hadn't even gotten started. A mere fourth of the field was cleared, and it had taken all of her time. Sucking up her exhaustion, she continued to work on into to the night. She was sluggish but continued to make progress on the field.
She heaved the last stone of the day into the river and whirled to face the two run-down buildings of the barn and coop. The barn was large, but in her mind it seemed bigger. So did the coop.
She sighed and berated herself in her mind for getting so ahead of herself. It just seemed that there was too much room for ideas where all these memories once existed. She was just refilling the empty space, and she didn't exactly want the memories to return, whatever they were.
Cautious, Chelsea trudged to the farmhouse and peeked inside. It seemed in excellent condition for its age. The furniture beaten, the wood aged, and the walls littered in cobwebs. However, very little renovating seemed in order. Of course there was no table or chairs or a decent kitchen area, but it had the basics.
Her mind began colorfully redecorating and she swatted away the thought of the sea-side theme.
She pranced over to the bed. Covers were folded neatly beside, but the bed itself had not been made. She peaked into the nightstand drawers, and luckily found some old rags suitable for dusting before she set up shop.
The last of the sunset light dwindled, but she worked through with the moonlight. Determined, she had fetched reeds and long grasses from outside and fashioned herself a broom. It didn't worked well, but it did the job well enough for her, and she ended up passing out on the plain, seemingly make-shift mattress in the corner of her new home.
Her morning came with the sound of tweeting birds. She rolled groggily from one side of the bed to the next and experienced a mini panic attack when she cleanly rolled off the side. A thud resounded around the house when she hit the floor, but she was glad to be awakened.
The rest of the insects and webs to be cleared were minimal due to her working late last night. Her stomach growled relentlessly, but she ignored it and persisted.
A rap sounded at the door and Chelsea froze solid.
"Hello?" she called anxiously.
The pink-haired girl stepped into the room and eyed the house in awe. "Holy cow, look at this. How'd you do this?"
Chelsea shrugged. "I've been working all night."
"Go figure. Anyway, we've foraged some stuff around the place and if you need anything to eat."
"I'd love to," Chelsea agreed, wanting to silence her stomach's calls of hunger.
They walked down to the town area which laid just before the farm. Just now, the idea of names popped into her head. What in the world would she call the farm?
"Hello, Chelsea. You are looking surprisingly well," Felicia commented at her dewy, renewed look. Her eyes lacked the pinkish red hue, and her complexion was astonishingly more even and tanned instead of the pasty, pale skin they had seen before.
The woman sat at a fire next to one of the town houses. Taro cooked something in the flames, suspended from a long, charred stick. Elliot lounged on the opposite side of the fire, looking up at Chelsea.
"Thank you...uh..." she hinted at a name.
"Felicia. And if you weren't already aware, this is my son, Elliot, my daughter Natalie, and my father Taro," she explained sweetly. Her voice was soft and gentle, just like a mother's should.
"Are you really taking that whole farm?" Elliot asked out of the blue.
Chelsea grinned widely. "Why not?"
A/N:
I was disappointed in you, chapter two. Oh, well. The upcoming chapters will be much, much smoother. Sorry for any weird transitions/omitted details. I don't know exactly what I was trying to do with this before.
(I decided to post this chapter the same day as the first just to get the ball rolling, I guess.)