Chapter Three: Feeling Like Home
The little farm that Mayor Hamilton sold me was little more than a patch of dirt. After cleaning my house and introducing myself to the odd residents of Castanet, I made my way back home to further investigate the atrocity that was my new ranch. It turns out the barn is tiny, drafty, and the west wall needs repairs. My coop wasn't much better. When I stepped into the small building my foot fell through the floor. That's right, wood rot. And now for the icing on the cake, the roof was leaking. All in all, I determined this ranch wasn't living creature compatible. None the less the cow than Cain had given me seemed to love the ranch.
She was a small brown calf, just weaned from her mother and walking around with wide eyes at this big new world she has to explore. And since I have a slight obsession with… odd names… you wouldn't believe what I named her. It was not I who picked her; I was actually considering the little black female when Cain showed me my choice of calves. But the brown blob lumbered her way toward me and refused to let me get around her. So here we are, my first animal and her name was, get ready for it, Carrot. Yes you heard me, Carrot.
You should have heard Cain laugh when I blurted the name out, he said that Carrot came from a long line of prize winning cows. He said her earliest predessor had an odd name as well, what was it again? Lime? Lemon? Oh well. Well back to the present. Finn and I were pondering on just how we could improve our predicament as we both glared down at the dry, parched soil of my farming plot. I glanced at the bag of potato seeds in my left hand. We both sighed heavily and I pulled out my old, used hoe. Let the grueling labor begin!
By the time I finished plowing I was already exhausted. As I leaned heavily against the plow I stood and surveyed my work. I have half the field to go. Dang, this farming stuff was harder than it looked. Sighing, I hefted the plow over my shoulder and headed into my crappy house. Finn immediately flew over to my bed and plopped on his small pillow beside my own. "That was exhausting!" he moaned. I set the plow in my toolbox and closed the lid. "And just who was breaking their back while you flew over her shoulder?" I asked sharply. Sadly my words fell on deaf ears for Finn was snoring quite loudly for such a small thing.
With another sigh to add to the day's quota I fell back on the bed and closed my eyes. "I am not looking forward to tomorrow." I groaned. And so went the rest of my week. I broke my back plowing, broke my neck leaning over to pull out weeds, and baked in the hot sun as I watered the sprouting potato crop. Until finally, Bo came to me with good news, the mine cart was operational again! Do you even know how much running that saves me?
After I finished tending to Carrot and my crops that morning I headed over to the Garmon Mines to check out the hazardous transportation down the mountain side. I decided to test the cart out on another, less windy, day. As I went past the blacksmith's to check Ramsey's progress of getting the red bell out of his chimney, something caught my eye. Beside the blacksmiths was a Jeweler's. Cobwebs hung from the sign that hung above the doorway but I headed inside. As my eyes adjusted to the onslaught of purple upholstery the poor dears suffered again as I took in the creature lounging on the couch.
It was a woman, with long purple hair cut into a mullet and streaked with all kinds of colors. She seemed to be asleep and I noticed mascara on her closed eyes. She wore a flamboyant puffy sleeved white shirt under a long coat with tufts of fur on the sleeves. Chains from many necklaces were scattered across her chest and her red flares reached equally strange boots. As I stood over the female and examined her, she groaned. Worried, I poked her cheek with one finger. When she didn't stir I lifted one eyelid. "Well morning!" I called. She shot up to fast that her forehead bashed into mine. I fell back against a chair while pressing a hand to my throbbing noggin.
"Who are you?" the woman screeched. I held out my free hand and smiled. "The name is Hikari, I'm new here." I said. The woman grabbed my hand and examined my nails. "Hmm." She said.
She circled me and I became uneasy as she lingered behind me. "Oh my." She said while puckering her pink lips. "What?" I asked. "Your style… or lack of is awful." The woman said. I glared at her. "Well that's a bit too much hair dye, even for a girl." I snapped. The woman placed a hand on her chest as if I shocked her. "Its natural thank you! And you think I'm a girl? Perhaps you should get your eyes checked." She… he said. I stared at the she male in slight confusion. I placed a hand on its chest and marveled at it. "Flat as a sheet of paper!" I gasped. The man grabbed my hand and pulled it off his chest. "Perhaps the reason is I am not a girl." He said.
Flushing red with embarrassment I turned to hide my face. "Sorry." I mumbled. "My name is Julius." He said. I turned around to face him again. "Are you the one who owns this jewelry store?" I asked. His eye brows rose high over his red eyes. "Heavens no! I'm merely taking care of it." I swept a critical eye around the dirty room. "I'm not cut out for business! I'm a designer not a boss!" he whined. "Then where is your boss?" I asked. Julius twirled around and sat down heavily on the sofa. "My boss passed away last year." He said.
"Is there someone else who can run the shop?" I asked. Julius raised his head up and scratched his chin. "I guess there is Mira." He said. "The sad lady at the church?" I asked. "That's the one." He replied. Sighing, I turned toward the door. "I'll talk to her." I said. "You will? Marvelous!" he exclaimed. I smiled in amusement and reached for the knob. "You know." He said, somehow suddenly behind me. He was fingering the edge on my blouse. "I think a nice blue would bring out your eyes." He said. I stared hard at the door, blood rushing to my face. "Why thank you." I said sweetly. I stepped back, right on his pretty designer boot. He jumped back with a yelp. "Bye!" I called while slamming the door behind me.
Hopping into the mine cart, I rode down the shaky tracks to arrive at the bottom of the island beside the church steps. I hopped out of the cart and headed toward town. I passed Maya in front of the inn and waved to her. I walked down to the dock to catch Toby reeling in his line. I stood beside him on the dock, forcing myself not to look down at the water. "How's it going?" I asked cheerily. He smiled at me as he threw his line back out. "Not many bites, but it's a nice day." He replied. "How do you like the island so far?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders slightly. "Can't say right now, but I think with a few tweaks it will feel like home in no time?" Toby's grin spread from ear to ear. "That's good to hear." He said.
Suddenly, a horn bellowed in the distance. The sound carried over the water and echoed into the town. Irene came running as fast as her aged legs could carry her. I reached a hand out to steady her when she reached the dock. "Is it… is it Pascal?" she gasped while catching her breath. I squinted at the horizon, seeing the outline of a boat come into focus. Pascal was waving his hand in the air and I waved back. "It's him!" I yelled. Irene placed a hand over her heart. "That means he's coming back." Irene sighed.
As I was about to ask who, I saw a figure appear beside Pascal. It was hard to see him clearly from this distance, but I could make out the tall, lean frame of a man. His long black hair was untied and blew gently in the oceans breeze. "My nephew has come home." Irene cooed. I glanced at her and then back at the boat. "It's Jin." Toby whispered, his ever closed eyes somehow making out the person beside Pascal from so far away.
Yes Yes I know, short. I wanted to ask you, do you want me to include the whole process of her ringing the bells to make it intersting? Or do you think it will just drag the story on?
Please review ;D?