Claire looked at her now empty, former apartment unit. Its size was deceiving. At first, you would think it was a very spacious wonder, then, when you move your furniture in, reality would dawn on you. She had been living here for over 2 years. The walls and floors had small markings. She exited the unit and locked the door. She held her apartment key and looked at it. She had already returned her locker key to her boss and now, she had to return this.
With her key between her fingers and the puppy between her hands, she slowly walked down the stairs. She talked to the security guard near the entrance and gave him her key. She bade him farewell. This guy had been one of her friends. She knew she was going to miss the 'good morning', 'goodbye' and 'welcome back' salutes he gave her. She knew she was going to be all alone again.
She stepped out of the apartment complex and entered the small truck parked in front. This was it. She was moving out of the city for good. Her heart started beating fast. The puppy looked at her, panting heavily. The weather was sunny. It was even a little bit hot that day. The puppy's saliva started dripping from his mouth. Claire took the worn-out face towel from her backpack and wiped the puppy's saliva away. "I haven't given a name yet, have I?"
The puppy barked. "I think I'll call you...", she looked through the windshield and saw the sky. "...Ciel." She lifted the puppy directly across her face. "From now on, you'll be Ciel." The puppy barked louder. "You like it, don't you?" She looked at the puppy and smiled. 'From now on, you're my beloved Ciel'
It took Claire over two hours to get to Mineral Town. The traffic was slightly heavy. When she arrived, she had the furniture placed in the exact same order as they were back in the apartment. After everything was placed perfectly, she gave the men their payment and continued fixing the place. She allowed the puppy to move freely around the house as she cleaned the bathroom. Claire hated the thought of dirty bathrooms and kitchens.
She sprayed disinfectants all over the walls, floor, toilet and bath. Age had made it grimy. It was already 11 in the morning. She had arrived a little over two hours earlier. All the grime was difficult to clean. She wondered how many years had actually passed since somebody inhabited this place. The next thing she targeted was the kitchen. The kitchen was easier to clean. Most of the stuff there were hers anyway.
After cleaning the kitchen, she prepared her lunch, along with little Ciel's lunch. She made curry rice for herself and soaked his puppy food in water. She ate her lunch and saved the rest for dinner. She gave Ciel his lunch and continued cleaning her new house. When she finished, she stepped out of the house and allowed the puppy to wander around. She looked at everything she was going to work with. 'At least, the soil here is good.'
She looked at the sky. The clouds were like white strands against a light blue background. Claire loved cirrus clouds. They were the best for doing field work. She whistled to the puppy. Ciel came running to her. She ushered him into the the shed and went in afterward. She looked at the tools inside. They were slightly rusted but they seemed sturdy enough. She lifted the sickle. It was a bit too heavy but she decided she could get herself to get used to it. She looked at all the other stuff and decided they, too, were good enough.
She exited the shed and entered the barn. It was big. She could probably fit in enough cows and sheep. 'This is going to need quite a bit of cleaning.' She exited the barn and headed for the chicken coop. She was satisfied with it. She just needed to clean it as well. She exited and walked to the small pond. It had a lot of leaves on it but it was still relatively clean. There weren't even any wrigglers in it. She walked over to the tree. The sound of bees flying around was easily distinguishable.
She walked over to the middle of the field and stroked one of the blades of grass that brushed against her arm. She was going to start working on the fields tomorrow. Today, she was going to purchase three chickens, a cow, a sheep and a few seeds. She looked at the entrance to her farm. There was a man approaching with the mayor. She walked over to them.
"Good afternoon, Claire!" The mayor lifted his arm to shake hands with her. "This is Zack." Claire nodded to him. "He'll be arriving here every 5pm to pick up whatever you want to have shipped. You see that wooden crate over there?" He pointed to the oddly shaped wooden structure across her house. "Whatever you want shipped or sold should be placed there. There's one in the barn and another in the coop. If you have any other questions related to shipping, just ask him."
Claire looked at Zack and smiled. "I'm Claire. It's a pleasure to meet you." She gestured to shake hands with him and he accepted. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too," he said, "Claire." "Do you have any questions?" Claire nodded at his question. "I would like to know" she started. "How do I tell you that I don't have any shipments?" Zack considered her question. "You could go to my place by the dock. I can show you where it is, anytime you want. Or, you could just tell me whenever you see me around town. If I'm already here, that wouldn't be a problem. Just tell me."
"Thank you, Zack!" Claire responded. "If you aren't busy today, could you show me where it is that you live, so I could just tell you?"
Zack nodded to Claire's question. "Sure, I'll even show you around town."
Claire carried Ciel. "I'll just put my pet inside." She went inside her house and carefully set him down. "I'll be leaving you here for a while. I'll just acquaint my self with the townspeople first." She kissed him on the forehead and exited her house. She locked it up and approached Zack and exited the farm with him.
They walked quite a bit and turned at the first corner. There was a house on the lelft side. "That," Zack pointed, "is Saibara's tool shop. You can buy some tools there or have what you have upgraded. He lives with his grandson, Gray. That kid, oh wait, he's probably just as old as you. Well, that kid is a little..." he struggled with thinking up of the right adjective to give. "He's a little bit uptight."
They walked further down the road. There was an empty lot. It was big and had a sign on it. Claire didn't have time to read it. "This one", Zack pointed to the lot just across the empty one, "belongs to Lillia. She has two kids, Rick and Popuri. They sell chickens and some stuff related to chickens. Rick is also uptight. Maybe even more true to the word than Gray. Popuri is...perky."
They reached another corner. "That leads to the mountains and the Goddess spring." He pointed at the path. "Let's make that the last stop. It will lead back to your farm." Claire nodded and continued following Zack. They skipped the path and headed straight. They passed by another house. "That's Barley's ranch. He sells cows, sheep and horses. He lives with his granddaughter, May. She's only about 5. Cute little kid, I must say."
They continued walking until they reached a wide, open area. "This is Rose square. Most festivals and events are held here." Zack stopped for a while. "Would you like to go to the beach first or go through the other houses first?" Claire looked at Zack. She considered her options. She opened her mouth, but stopped herself from speaking. She tilted her head to the side. "You decide. Whichever is more convenient to you." Zack nodded his head. "Let's go to the beach first. It's closer."
They headed for the beach. "Whatever event isn't held in the square is held here." Zack pointed to the white shack. "That's Kai's shack. He's only here during the summer though, so you wouldn't be able to meet him yet. That one, on the other hand," he pointed to the house beside it, "is my house. I have a Chinese guy staying with me there. He's Won. He likes to sell stuff but his stuff are a bit expensive. They're also quite rare. That's the dock right there."
They walked back to the square. They passed through the other path at the north. "I won't lead you through this path anymore. That big house-like thing there is the inn. Doug runs it. He has a daughter named Ann. They currently have 2 tenants, Gray and Cliff. Cliff is new here, too, but he's usually in the church. When Kai is here, he stays there. Usually, Van, a traveling merchant, stays there whenever he's in town. The Gourmet, the outside judge of the cooking festivals, stays there whenever he's here. The one beside it is Aja's Winery. Duke and his wife, Manna, live there. Aja is their daughter but she left for the city a while back.
They continued north. They stopped in front of the church. "Our pastor is named Carter. He's a very kind fellow. You should go here, if you're into this faith." Claire nodded. She noticed a path beside the church and asked what it was. "Rumor has it that the mythological harvest sprites live there." Zack nodded. "No one has really seen the sprites."
They turned west and started walking. "This is the local clinic. The local doctor is named Trent. He's very easy to get along with. The nurse is named Ellie and she's just wonderful." They continued walking. "This one is the supermarket. It's run by Jeff and his family. He's a nervous wreck. He has a wife named Sasha and she's always in the square with Manna and Anna. He has a daughter named Karen. She sometimes helps out there. This one is the mayor's house. Mayor Thomas lives with his son Harris, our constable. This one beside it is Ellen's house. She's Elli's grandmother. She's a very kind old lady. If you see a little boy around here, that's Stu, Elli's brother. He's very playful. Lastly, this one is the local library. Basil and his family run it. Anna is Basil's wife. His daughter, Mary, is the local librarian. Basil is usually in the mountains."
They turned at the corner and walked straight down back to Claire's farm. Before I leave, I'll just quickly show you through the mountains. They continued walking south. They passed by a forest-like area and Claire saw a house. Zack noticed the question forming on her face. "That's Gotz's place. He's a carpenter." They continued walking straight. This path up here leads to the Goddess spring and mine. They continued walking and stopped in front of a lake. This is the Kappa lake. They say that if you throw a cucumber in it, the Kappa will come out. That's just a myth though." Zack pointed forward. "That path there leads to the mountains. That's where we can view the moon during New Year's. It's the best site."
They walked back to Claire's farm. "That's all for today. You can always visit everyone if you really want to meet them. I have to go now. Oh, and in case you were wondering why no one was out and about, they're all just probably resting." Claire nodded and thanked Zack. He waved at her and she waved back. He left and Claire headed to her house. 'I guess I'll clean the coop and the barn tomorrow, and get the chickens, cow and sheep tomorrow.'
It was already past 5:30 and it was getting darker. She went inside her house and petted Ciel. "I'm back!" She carried her puppy and started playing with him. "I'll introduce you to the people when I'm more familiar with them." She smiled at him. 'I'd like to get to know all of them some more.'