Chapter Two – Rough Night
Kyle opened his eyes to find himself resting in a place he did not recognize. He slowly stood up and looked around, examining the large labeled bottles lining the walls.
Kyle put his feet on the ground and stood up. He couldn't remember how he ended up in this place, the last thing he had been doing was chopping a long stubborn tree branch and then…
"Ah, you're awake Kyle." A tall lady with gorgeous red hair pulled back into tight buns stepped into the room. "How are you feeling?" She questioned.
"H-how did you know my name? Why am I here?" Kyle asked still feeling a little drowsy.
The woman laughed lightly. "Douglass brought you in last night. It seems you overworked yourself on that farm of his and passed out. You should be more careful."
"Oh…" Kyle replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Everything made sense now, he was in a hospital. He felt silly for not realizing this sooner. "I'll try to be more careful next time." He smiled "Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's what I'm here for. My name's Natalie by the way. You can come see me any time if you're not feeling well."
"Thanks, I will." Kyle turned to leave but was stopped by a very feminine looking boy around his age, who was occupying the doorway.
"Hi, I'm Ray." The boy introduced, as he spoke his long silver ponytail slid like silk along his green sweater. "I heard you two talking and thought I'd come say hello. You just moved in last night, right? The whole town is buzzing with excitement."
Kyle smiled. "Nice to meet you Ray, I can't wait to meet everyone else."
"Ray, move aside and let the poor boy get back to work." Natalie said.
Ray smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." He said and moved out of the room, letting Kyle pass.
He walked out the door to the hospital and was greeted by a warm spring breeze. The wind blew a girl his way, bringing her crashing into him, knocking her off her feet and throwing the animal she clutched to the ground.
"Are you alright?!" Kyle exclaimed, moving swiftly toward her and gathering the toy on the way.
"Mm…" The girl groaned grabbing her hooded head and positioning her bangs over her eyes. "… I'm s-s-sorry…" She mumbled, barley audible.
"Don't be sorry, It's my fault, I wasn't paying attention." He smiled at her, not sure if she could see it with her eyes covered like that. "I think this belongs to you." He held out the doll.
"F-Fern!" The girl gasped, took the doll and quickly hurried past Kyle into the hospital behind him.
"What a weird person." Kyle laughed to himself, standing alone in shock.
After a moment he turned away and spotted the sign to the general store The sign brought back memories of the cute little girl he had met just the day before. He made his way over to the door and stepped inside.
"I need the eggs for cooking, I promise."
"I don't believe you Roy…" Douglass eyed the green haired boy suspiciously, holding the bundle of small eggs just out of his reach. "You don't even know how to cook."
The boy opened his mouth as if to protest, but closed it again accepting that he'd been caught. His shoulders sagged in defeat "Cammy is going to be mad at me…"
He turned and saw Kyle standing there observing the situation, he instantly lit up. "Hey there!" He greeted.
"Hello." Kyle smiled.
At the sound of his voice Mana's ears perked up like a curious puppy's and she ventured to the front room from the upstairs she had been working in.
"Kyle! How are you?" She grinned innocently from the stairs.
"I'm doing okay." He smiled back. "A lot better than last night."
"Oh! How are you feeling? You shouldn't work yourself too hard."
"Don't worry about me, I've learned my lesson."
"Hey, do you want to buy me some eggs?" Roy interrupted.
"Roy! Get out of my store!" Douglass dismissed. "What brings you to our shop on this fine day?" Douglass said to Kyle as soon as Roy left, clenching his teeth in a smile. He was eager to keep the boy away from his daughter.
"I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me last night."
"Ah, no need to thank me son. Though is would be nice if you wanted to purchase something…" Douglass coughed.
Kyle laughed uneasily. "Well, I guess I could buy a few bags of seeds."
"Great! How about a few Emery Seeds?"
"Uh… I only have a couple hundred…"
"Oh." Douglass lost his enthusiasm. "Well, how about… an onion seed?"
"That'll work, thanks." Kyle handed over the few gold he had and left the store, waving a quick good bye to Mana who turned an angry glare on her father as soon as Kyle was out the door.
