Chapter Two
The ride to Pelican Town was much more comfortable than Jaina had been expecting, thanks to her parents' last-minute surprise of a ticket on a coach bus. She would have been fine riding on the usual bus, but it was a six-hour ride and they insisted she should be comfortable during the lengthy travel time. They'd both looked like they were about to start crying when the call finally came over the terminal's loudspeaker, especially her father. He almost didn't let her out of his tight hug in time for her to catch her ride, and even then only did so thanks to her mother's coaxing and a promise to return home for the winter holidays.
She let out a sigh as she rested her head back against the plush seat and watched the scenery pass by outside. Seeing everything suddenly change from the cold concrete and steel of the city to the lush greenery of the more rural outskirts and then to ever more untamed wilderness as they continued their journey had been both a bit jarring and extremely exciting to her. Aside from the visits she'd made to her grandfather's farm as a small child, the entirety of her twenty-four years had been spent in Zuzu City. She grew up there, went to school there, worked there, eventually got her own place there, and was planning to settle down there, too.
With a sigh, she shook her head to clear away her thoughts of the life she had planned on having. That dream was gone, now. It had died when her engagement was abruptly brought to an end. Now, she had a new goal. It surprised her to think that it might actually be the first time she set one for herself. Her parents had urged her to go to college, so she went. Joja offered her a job shortly before her graduation, so she took it. Adam said they should get married, so she agreed. He had made pretty much all of the decisions regarding their wedding, too, and even decided where they would be living after the ceremony.
This move was her choice, though. Despite the strange looks the people at work gave her when she told them why she was quitting, she stuck to her guns. She knew nothing about farming, but the tiny specks of memories which had ignited in her mind when she read her grandfather's letter kept urging her to return to that little house in the country. If nothing else, it would be quiet there and she'd be able to clear her mind a bit and decide upon a new game plan for the rest of her life.
Letting out another sigh, she closed her eyes and settled back into her seat. She hadn't been able to sleep much the night before, and with how comfortable the plush seat felt she soon found herself drifting off.
As she slept, fuzzy images played through her mind, like a VHS tape that had been watched so many times it wore out. Indistinct child-like voices laughed and called her name, and she found herself moving toward them in her dream until another voice called for her from somewhere else.
"Jay-Jay!"
It was another child's voice, but it came through more clearly than the others. The nickname felt somehow familiar, though she couldn't recall anyone ever calling her that before. Curious who was calling her by that name, she turned around and ran toward the voice, but the more she ran the farther away the voice got until she fell to her knees in exhaustion. She cried out for the other person to wait for her, her voice that of a child as it passed through her lips, but there came no reply. Even the laughter and voices of the other children had died out. She was all alone.
Jaina woke up with a start just as the bus slowly pulled to a stop, and the driver called back to the passengers that they had arrived at Pelican Town. She stood from her seat and went to the front of the bus, and the driver got off with her to help her retrieve the backpack she'd stowed away with the rest of the passengers' luggage below. She thanked him, and he gave her a smile and a polite farewell before heading back onto the bus and driving away. She sighed as she watched the bus disappear down the road, and realized that there was no turning back at this point.
"Jaina?"
At the sound of her voice, she turned around to see a woman with red hair looking at her with her head tilted curiously to one side. As soon as their eyes met, the woman grinned and stepped up to her, then immediately wrapped her up in a hug.
"My goodness, you've grown up so much! I mean, of course you have. It's been twenty years, after all," she rambled, releasing Jaina just enough to step back slightly and look her over.
"Um... I'm sorry, but... do I know you?"
The woman seemed surprised by the question, her smile falling a bit, and she finally moved away from her and awkwardly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Right... I'm sorry. I guess you wouldn't remember me."
"Oh, it's not you," Jaina quickly assured her. "Honestly, I don't remember much of anything about this place. I don't even really remember my grandfather, it's been so long."
The friendly smile returned to the woman's face and she nodded, then held out her hand in greeting.
"I'm Robin, the town carpenter," she introduced herself as they shook hands. "I'm sure you don't remember, but you used to play with my son, Sebastian, when you came to visit."
"I did?" Jaina asked, furrowing her brow a bit as she recalled the dream she'd just had on the bus.
"You did," Robin replied with a nod, her smile growing bigger. "You two and Sam and Abigail all used to be thick as thieves whenever you were around. Maybe you could all get together sometime and relive the old days."
"They're all still here?"
"Well, Sam's family moved to the city for a few years, but they've been back since he and Abby were in high school, and Sebby spent a couple of months in the city after his own graduation, but right now they're all living right here in Pelican Town. They even get together to hang out at the saloon every Friday night."
Jaina felt a little relieved to hear that. Perhaps she didn't remember them, but it was nice knowing she had friends in her new hometown – assuming their memories were better than her own. She resolved to try to get in touch with them once she'd taken some time to settle in.
"But listen to me rambling," Robin said with a wave of her hand. "I bet you're about ready to collapse after that long trip. Come along and I'll show you to the farm."
The two women chatted as they walked from the bus stop to the farm, and Jaina found out from Robin that she and her husband also had a daughter who worked part-time as an assistant to the local doctor. She told her that Sam's father was a soldier and had been deployed to fight in the war, and that there was an aspiring writing living in a shack on the beach. She also assured Jaina that the items she'd sent ahead had all arrived safely, and that Robin herself and the Mayor had taken to the task of cleaning up the old farmhouse for her use, even adding some new furniture to help her feel more at home.
"I will warn you, though," Robin said as they neared the farm, "the place has seen better days. After all, it's been abandoned since your grandfather died."
Jaina nodded a little, not quite sure what to expect, then let out an audible gasp of shock once they finally reached the property and she saw just how run-down the place had become. The tiny house had certainly seen better days, its walls worn and roof faded, and the land surrounding it had become overgrown with weeds. The nearby forest even seemed to be trying to claim the land back, as there were dozens of trees now growing in random spots, various twigs and stones littering the ground around them.
"Didn't there used to be a barn there?" she asked Robin, pointing in the general direction where she could faintly recall a large barn which had housed her grandfather's livestock once standing.
"There was, but we had a big storm a few years ago that knocked it down. Luckily, the house survived."
Just as she said so, the front door of the house opened and an older man with a mustache came out, wiping his hands on a handkerchief.
"Mayor Lewis!" Robin called out to him. "Look who's here!"
The man squinted a bit as he looked at Jaina, then let out a hearty chuckle and came down the front steps of the house, holding his hands out to her. She reached out her hand to shake his in greeting, and found her hand clasped warmly between both of his as he continued smiling at her with the beginnings of tears in his eyes.
"By Yoba, it really is you!" He exclaimed, raising her hand to kiss the back of it. "I remember the last time I saw you, you barely came up to here."
He momentarily released one of his hands from its grip on hers, holding it a couple of feet above the ground, then reached up to pat the top of her head.
"Your grandfather would be proud to see how beautiful you've become," he said, and Jaina had a sudden, brief memory of someone doing the same thing to her when she was little.
"I think... I remember you," she said to him. "You used to come to visit my grandfather and play cards."
"That's right!" Lewis said, beaming. "We were the best of friends, he and I, despite our age difference. He even helped me run my campaign to become mayor." He cleared his throat a bit and finally let go of her hand, the wiped at his eyes a bit. "But you didn't come here to hear an old man reminisce about a lost friend."
"It's fine. Perhaps you could tell me some stories about him, sometime. I barely remember him, myself."
"That sounds like a fine idea," Lewis agreed, then turned back to the house with a sigh.
"I'm afraid it's not much, but Robin and I did our best to at least make it comfortable for living in."
"And if you ever decide you'd like to spruce the place up or expand it and make it a little bigger, you can always come to me for help," Robin offered. "I do things like barns, too, and I charge a fair price."
"Look at you," Lewis said in a teasing voice. "She's been here less than an hour and you're already attempting to get her to hire you."
"Not like there's anyone else in town who can do the work," Robin retorted. "Besides, whose fault is it that this place was left to go to such waste. Some friend you are, Lewis."
"Hey!" Lewis shouted at her, though he was smiling. "Alright, fair enough. But keep in mind, dear, that it's not just us. I'm sure plenty of others in town would be willing to help you get this place back up and running."
"You should ask my son to help you," Robin suggested. "It would be good for him to get outside of the house during the day once in a while."
"Good luck with that," Lewis grumbled.
"Am I missing something?" Jaina asked, looking between the two of them with a confused expression on her face.
"It's just that... Sebastian is..." Robin stumbled over her words, then sighed a bit and shook her head. "You'll see when you visit my shop, I'm sure. Actually, since you just got to town, why don't you come over and join my family for dinner tonight?"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose."
"Spoken like a true city girl," Lewis remarked with a chuckle. "One thing you should learn fairly early on while living here is that everyone's door is open to their neighbors, so to speak. We all help one another and look out for each other as much as we can."
"Most of us do, anyway," Robin added. "At any rate, don't you dare say no. I'm sure my daughter would love to meet you, and I know Demetrius won't mind setting an extra place at the table for a new neighbor."
"Alright, then," Jain finally agreed. "I'd love to join your family for dinner.
"Great!" Robin said, clapping her hands together excitedly. "Now, to get to our house, all you have to do is take that little road over there and follow it up over the hill. You can't miss it."
Jaina looked toward a footbridge crossing the stream which ran behind the house, seeing the path beyond leading up into part of the forest.
"What if I get lost?"
"Seriously, you can't miss it," Robin repeated with a chuckle. "Just stay on the path. Once you come to a clearing, my house will be right there. Feel free to let yourself in, when you arrive. My shop is at the front, so we might not hear you knock."
"Got it."
"Well, we'll leave you to get settled in now," Lewis told her, giving a slight tip of his hat. "Remember, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"I will, thank you. Both of you. I already feel welcomed."
Jaina smiled at them and they said their goodybyes, the mayor heading the way she'd come from the bus station with Robin, while Robin made her way across the bridge.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Robin called, turning back just as she reached the edge of the forest. "Dinner is at six. Don't be late!"