Kana walked with Lillian through the bright red and yellow designed noren. On the other side of the curtains, was a small restaurant that was decorated to look like a vintage Japanese tea house. Kana led Lillian up to the counter and rang a small bell. A few moments later, an older woman with gray hair came out of the back room.
"Hello Kana! Here for lunch as usual?" The old woman spoke with a happy tone.
"Yeah, and I bought a friend of mine! This is Lillian, she's new to Konohana." Lillian outstretched her arm and shook the woman's hand gently.
"It's very nice to meet you, Lillian! I'm Yun, and I run this Tea House! Oh, I must introduce you to my granddaughter! Ying, come on out, there's someone I'd like you to meet!" She turned her head and shouted to the back room. Moments later, a little girl dressed in a pink and white dress with a matching hat and a yellow shirt. She was carrying a small stuffed panda, and seemed very meek. She approached Yun and hid behind her, a blush forming across her face. Lillian kneeled down and peered behind Yun, seeing that the little girl was staring back at her.
"Hello there, I'm Lillian! I'm new to Konohana, it's very nice to meet you!" She extended her hand and waited a few moments until the little girl reached back to shake her hand gently.
"I-I'm Ying. I live here with my grandmother." She spoke quietly and hid behind Yun.
"Oh, please excuse her, she's just shy, that's all. You see, she came to live with me because she's ill and her parents believe that it's best for her here. I agree with them. Now, you two must be hungry! Right this way, I'll get you a table!" she led them out into the small dining room. She placed a couple of menu's on a table that was right by the window. "Take a seat, I'll be right back to take your orders!" She shuffled back behind the counter and began washing her hands.
Lillian picked up the menu and opened it slowly. Her eyes widened as she flipped through 2 pages of food items. "Kana, this is incredible! I don't know what to buy!"
"Well, I usually get the same thing. It's not on the menu though." He pushed his menu towards the center.
"Oh, what's that?"
"Spicy Curry. It's my favorite thing in the whole wide world!"
"Ohh, that sounds yummy! Do you mind if I get the same thing as you? I'll just have water to drink." Lillian closed her menu and placed it in the center with the other menu.
"Of course not, it's amazing!"
Yun made her way over to their table, and without hesitation, Kana held up two fingers and smiled. "Two spicy curries, and two waters to go with that, please!"
"Right away! You two relax and I'll have those out in a few minutes!" Yun walked back behind the counter and began preparing their meal. Kana glanced over and watched Yun for a moment, and then looked back at Lillian.
"So, what do you think so far?"
"Well, I mean it's only my second day, but I like it here a lot. Say, how long have you lived here?"
"Well, for about a year or so. I moved away from home to start a business selling horses, pets and pet supplies. Sometimes I miss home, but I'm grown up now. I thought It was time to start my own adventure."
"I know what you mean. It's hard being away from home and not having my parents around anymore. My mom died when I was only 11. My dad passed away about 4 months ago. I couldn't stand being at home without them."
"I'm so sorry Lillian. I know how it is to lose someone you love. I promise you won't be alone here, I'm your friend, and I know you will make other friends soon enough!" Yun walked over to their table with both dishes on a tray, accompanied with two glasses of ice water.
"Here you are, eat up!" She sat both dishes down in front of the hungry guests and walked away. Kana opened up his pair of chopsticks, broke them apart and began rubbing them together to remove excess splinters.
"Kana?" Lillian began to do the same with her chopsticks.
"Yeah, what is it, Lillian?"
"I.. Just want to thank you for everything so far. It's been tough living on my own, and I'm lucky to have a friend like you."
"Aw, shucks Lillian, it's nothing, really. I know what it feels like to be alone and no one to talk to." He rubbed the back of his neck, looked away and formed a soft blush that danced across his cheeks.
Lillian smiled and began to dig into her bowl of spicy curry. She took a bite and smiled ear to ear. "Kana, you were right, this is delicious!"
Kana shook off the blush and embarrassment and looked back to Lillian. He smiled and began digging into his own bowl.
"I know! Yun makes it really good, doesn't she! Say, after this, why don't we go up to the mountain summit?"
"That sounds awesome, Kana. It really does, but I REAAAAALY need to get to work. I can't make money by doing nothing."
Kana sighed and tried to form a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe this evening we can?"
"Maybe. Stop by later tonight and check up on me. But for now, let's enjoy the rest of our lunch, okay?"
After a few moments of eating in an awkward silence, Yun walked over and gave the bill to Kana. He pulled out his wallet and gave her a couple of bills. "Keep it, it was delicious!"
"Thank you both for coming in, I hope to see you soon!"
Kana and Lillian walked outside. Lillian sighed and looked up to Kana. "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just, I'm broke and I need money for food and supplies."
"You didn't hurt my feelings at all. Honest. I understand completely!" He pulled out his wallet and tried to hand Lillian money, but she gently pushed his hand away.
"Kana, I can't accept that! That's your money, not mine!"
"Look, Lillian, I don't want you going hungry. Please take it."
"Kana, I won't I promise. Besides you already bought me lunch, and I really appreciate it! Please, I'd feel bad if I took it."
Kana sighed and smiled softly. "You are a good soul, Lillian. But it really isn't a problem. If you ever need anything, you just let me know. Alright?"
"Agreed." Lillian smiled and turned to face the dirt path. "I had fun today! Thank you for showing me around."
"No problem. I'll try to head by your place later tonight, alright?"
"Sounds like a plan! I'll see you around!" Lillian turned and started to walk back to her farm. 'I really need to plant my seeds. I feel bad for shooting Kana down.' She reached her farm and walked into her house to grab her supplies, and then back out to begin her work. Within 20 minutes of using the sickle to scythe off unnecessary grass, she nearly passed out.
"I don't ever remember farming being this hard!" She sat down and looked at her seed packets. "I forgot that tomorrow is the first day of summer. And Ina gave me summer seeds! Radish and Corn seeds. Alright! This is a start!" She stood back up, with a little motivation to keep going. She began sowing and planting her seeds. After about an hour, she had over 30 seeds planted and watered. She walked back into her house and noticed that it was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but she was extremely exhausted. She decided she would walk over to Kana's house and let him know that she was going to retire early for the day. But before she could, she heard a knock at her door.
"Ah, he beat me to the punch." She opened her door and noticed that it was indeed, Kana that was knocking on her door.
"Hey, you done for the day?" He gave her a hopeful smile.
"Yeah, I am. But, I'm really tired. I had a big day after all! So I think I'll take a raincheck for our mountain adventure.. Sorry Kana."
"Don't be sorry! I know you've got to be tired. After all, it's the end of spring today. Starting tomorrow is typhoon season."
"T-typhoon season?" Lillian felt her heart drop. She dreaded typhoons, and any other storms.
"Yeah, why do you not like storms or something?" Lillian looked down and blushed as soon as Kana mentioned it.
"Oh, I'm sorry Lillian I didn't mean to frighten you!"
"It's not that. I just get very nervous with storms, and sometimes they even make me sick to my stomach because of all the anxiety they cause me. I'll be fine, it's summer after all. So there can't be too many typhoons.. right?"
"Well, it all depends. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be sunny in the morning but rainy in the afternoon. So you better get some sleep so you can wake up extra early to get your work done before it rains. You wouldn't wanna catch ill!"
"Yeah, you're right." Lillian sighed and bowed to Kana "Goodnight, Kana. And thanks for checking up on me."
"No problem, sleep well, and I'll see you tomorrow."
Lillian closed the door and locked it. She went straight towards her bed and collapsed onto it. The plush mattress felt so good to her, she fell asleep almost instantly.
The next few weeks seemed to go by quickly with no typhoons, and hardly any rain. It was a drought in the two towns and everyone was struggling to keep their crops alive. Of course, Lillian was relieved about the no typhoon part, but she too, was finding it hard to keep her plants watered. She was forced to take limited showers, and water her plants once a day to save her spigot from drying out. But all of that was going to change soon, or so she thought. In the next day, Summer would be over and the leaves would change a different color, and new seeds would be available in Gombe's shop. So far, she made some great friends from both Konohana and Bluebell. Nori and Reina seemed to be her two best girlfriends, and of course, Kana was still by her side being her best guy friend. She still felt alone, wishing that she could meet her prince charming and live happily ever after, but It was a farmer's life to grow crops and raise animals. There was no time for fairy tales just yet, she only had 112,300g saved up, and she knew she would have to spend a lot of that during the winter months. She awoke on a sunny Saturday morning, and went straight outside to water her plants. Everything seemed very quiet, too quiet. She decided to venture into town to see what was up. There was no one to be seen!
"That's weird. Where is everyone?" She turned around and began to walk back to her house. After a few moments, she realized that she was missing something. She ran back inside her home and looked at her calendar.
"Oh noooo! Today's the cooking festival, I need to make a dessert!" She threw open her fridge and began looking for ingredients she could use. She took out milk, butter , eggs and an apple and then ran over to her cabinet to pull out some baking flour. After a few moments of mixing, she threw the dough in a pan and made: Apple Pie!
As soon as it was done baking, she threw on her cutest outfit, and ran out the door towards the mountain summit. She looked down at her watch. It read 11:55 AM. She ran faster until she reached Ina.
"I'm ready to enter!" Lillian held her pie out towards Ina
"Excellent! Let's get started!"
Lillian stepped up to the Konohana table and noticed that Yun and Nori were joining her in the contest. She gave them a kind greeting and then looked over to Bluebell's table. One problem, she would be facing Howard, Jessica and Cam. Everyone knew Howard always got perfects on his dishes.
"And now, we would like to welcome the wonderful gourmet, Pierre!"
Lillian stood up straight, stiffening her body. She was more nervous than she thought. 'We have to win this thing. For Konohana.' She looked out to the crowd and saw that Kana was out there, cheering her on specifically. She blushed and looked down at her dish.
"I'll try Bluebell's food first!" Pierre announced as he walked up to Bluebell's table. Nori nudged Lillian and whispered in her ear.
"Hey, you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."
"I'm okay, I'm just nervous."
"Why, your dish looks great! I wouldn't worry about it." She leaned back and stood up tall. Soon, Pierre was on his way over to their table.
"Everything looks wonderful! Let's try Lillian's dish, first!"
Lillian took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Within moments, she heard Pierre sit down the fork. "This is amazing! Nice and flaky crust, and the apples are nice and tart! Now I'll try Yun's."
Lillian let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her body. She looked back out to the Konohana crowd and noticed that Kana was smiling ear to ear.
"It's as if the Harvest Goddess made this herself!" Pierre exclaimed as he began to move down to Nori's dish. And just as Lillian predicted, It was just as good as hers. After a few moments, Pierre was ready to announce the winners.
"As always, both towns had wonderful dishes, but only one town can win today's contest. And that town is…Konohana!"
"Way to go, Konohana!" Kana shouted as he ran up to the three women.
"Lillian, you were awesome today!"
"Thanks, Kana. But I don't think Bluebell's taking too kindly of it." Lillian looked over and noticed Rutger was arguing with Ina, calling it a false match.
"And this brings this contest to an end. I will be back next month for the Salad competition! Until next time!" Pierre shook the hands of the contestants and then made his way down the mountain, wanting to avoid any conflicts that Rutger and Ina might shove at him. Ina soon walked up to Lillian with a big smile on her face.
"Lillan, thanks to you, we won today! I sent a special gift to your house!" Ina gave Lillian a big hug and made her way down the mountain. Lillian was too excited to get home, so she practically ran all the way there. When she arrived, she noticed a black and red fancy cart by her house.
"Oh man, this is better than my original one!" She rubbed the side of it, making sure to take in all of her emotions at once. "The paint is so smooth.. no imperfections! I can't wait until next contest!" She pulled the cart into her barn, struggling with it's weight. "It would be awful if it were to get ruined and warped by the rain. I must take care of it! And now to take care of myself." Lillian walked back into her house and laid down in her bed. "Tomorrow's the first day of fall. I wonder how Fall's going to go.." She soon fell asleep, clutching her pillow tight.