Part 2

An hour passed away, but they finally made it to the base of the hill. Chase looked back and saw that H.A.R.V.E.S.T farm was on the way up to a cliff. A waterfall cascaded from the side of the cliff, running down into Olfa and feeding a large lake at the center. 'I might go up there, if I ever find the time to.'

"Come on!" Ben shouted back at them.

"Hurry up Chase," Kaitlyn beckoned, already running ahead.

"Uh, yeah! Wait!" Chase walked into a small circular area with a view of the lake. To the right was two blue buildings, and trees that hid the waterfall's river running into the lake. To the left was a yellow building near the lake and a path leading onward in the town. Ben and Kaitlyn were waiting at the center for him. We made his way to them and looked at them questioningly.

"Over there," Ben began, pointing towards the two buildings, "Is the supermarket. The bigger one is the store, and the smaller one is storage." An idea popped up as Chase heard the word 'Supermarket'. He walked to the front door and opened it. Inside were a few shelves filled with everyday necessities, a counter, and two doors at the upper-left corner, one on the left wall and another on the back wall. Manning the counter was none other than Oliver Gliver. He was the same height as Chase, but Oliver was much more muscular, probably due to the heavy lifting that is required in his job. Oliver wore a brown T-shirt, beige pants, and a striped tie. He also had brown slit eyes and blonde hair that spiked in about every direction. What Lily saw in Oliver, Chase didn't know.

'I think Lily needs an eye check.' Oliver spotted Chase come in and greeted him.

"Oh, hey!" he shouted in a deep voice. "If it isn't Lily's older brother!" He moved over and reached out his hand for Chase to shake. Chase ignored the gesture and stared him straight in the eyes.

"My name's Chase," he said forcefully. "And if you know what's good for you, you'd leave my sister alone." Oliver took a step back, feeling Chase's anger.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Chase took a step forward.

"You know what I mean," Chase said, poking Oliver's chest, "you player!" Oliver began growing nervous, and Chase knew it.

"W-well," he stuttered, "I've got to go and…sort out the merchandise in the back…" Oliver slowly moved into the door on the back wall and exited the room.

"What's going on here?" asked a new voice. A woman entered the room through the other door. She was like Ben in a way; she held herself proudly. But she had a determined face, as if everything she did had to be with her all. She had a red bandana covering the front top of her hair while the other half was short, exposed blonde hair Not necessarily bad, but not very friendly either. The woman walked up to Chase and stared him down. Chase felt like he was growing smaller and smaller. "Are you bullying my son Oliver?"

"N-not really…" Chase answered. Chase stared at the woman's orange eyes for a while. Then she cracked a smile and started laughing to herself. Nervously, Chase laughed with her.

"I'm just kidding!" she admitted.

"R-right…" She slapped his shoulder and stopped the laughter.

"My son could learn from a little bullying anyway! So you're the new farmer at H.A.R.V.E.S.T farm?"

"That's right," Chase said, regaining his courage. She took his hand and shook it vigorously.

"The name's Wendy Gliver. I'm the storeowner!" Chase let go of her hand and glanced at her clothing. Wendy had on a yellow long sleeved shirt and a green skirt. Over it was a white apron that had some small stains on it. Her arms were slightly built from hard labor. All in all, she looked like a storeowner.

"I'm Chase Lore," Chase introduced. He looked around and began leaving the store. "Well, I've got a busy day ahead of me. I might come here later, but for now. See you tomorrow!" She waved at me, and I closed the door behind me.

"You done?" Ben asked, irritated.

"Yeah, let's continue."

As they walked through the town, Chase got to meet more and more townspeople. The town is actually based all around the giant lake, so they went all around the lake to get to Ring Farm. Chase met Jay, a fisherman that lived in the other house that they saw, and his wife Julie. They both seemed to be an old couple, but Chase thought that Julie was a little scary after he commented on it. It seems that Olfa was their honeymoon spot, for some strange reason. The next place they came to was the town plaza, a big area where they saw the traveling merchant, Jun. He tried to sell Chase some Relaxation Tea Leaves, but Ben told him that they were fake. Jun wore a simple white robe and sandals, but inside were more fake Relaxation Tea Leaves. They left Jun and found the mayor's home, which was actually pretty small for the mayor of the town. It was a small wooden house. No paint, no decoration, just wood in house form. The mayor didn't seem to be around. "He's always busy," Kaitlyn told Chase. The final building there was a big church, containing many artifacts and rocks. Chase couldn't tell if the church was used for religious purposes or excavation purposes. "There's a mine behind the church," Kaitlyn remarked. "The preacher often goes mining and offers the gems to the Harvest Goddess."

'Is it me, or is every important person here constantly busy?' They left the plaza and came along another area Kaitlyn likes to call "The Best Place to Be!". There was an inn, a flower shop, and a house that housed a photographer. The inn was two stories tall, and the usual tenants there were the owner's family and a few travelers. But the inn was closed, so Chase couldn't meet them. The flower shop was painted pink and surrounded by various types of flowers: the brilliant Moondrops, the cute Pinkcat flowers, the fluffy Toy flowers, the hot Firefly flowers, and even some Blue and Red Magic flowers. The photographer's house was, as Ben and Kaitlyn described, "Scarier than you can imagine"! Chase made a note to visit this area on his own later. Following the road leads to lead to two different routes. One route went more into the woods, while the other kept along the lake.

"In there is the Wood Cutter's place," Ben explained, pointing towards the woods path. "You can't get your farm rebuilt if you want there."

"But don't look into Flint's eyes," Kaitlyn warned. "He doesn't like it. Just talk to his puppet."

"His puppet?" Chase asked them.

"You'll understand," they both said. They took the lakeside road, and, they finally came to their destination. It was the final area of the town, containing a mansion and a large farm. Chase couldn't help but let his mouth fall wide open.

"Ring farm is supporting the Quinst mansion there," Kaitlyn said proudly.

"Heh! We sure are great, giving the great Quinst family so much fortune!" Benjamin gloated. "In fact, WE ARE THE GREATEST FARMERS WHO EVER LIVED!" Ben started laughing hysterically while looking up at the sky. Kaitlyn turned away from him, embarrassed.

"Let's leave Ben in his own world," she suggested. Chase nodded, and walked to a big house by the fields of the farm. Kaitlyn opened the door and shouted, "We're back!"

"Yay!" a little boy shouted in return. "Sis is back!" The little boy suddenly appeared and hugged Kaitlyn, though it was more like he hugged her legs.

"Hey, Theo," she said to the little boy while patting his head.

"Oh, so the new farmer's here?" asked a male's voice.

"How pleasant!" a female's voice remarked. Chase looked into the room. A couple was sitting on a dining table having tea. The man was very muscular, and masculine as well, with his moustache. His dark brown eyes stared at Chase, trying to size him up. The woman was a bit round, but that did not stop her from doing farm work, or house work, for that matter. She was like an adult version of Kaitlyn: kind blue eyes, long brown hair tied up in a bun, and a smile that seemed to warm Chase's heart. The little boy Theodore, or Theo, was, in a way, like his father, for he was the only one who inherited his father's eye color. His hair was ruffled up and short, and he was a rascal inside. Chase couldn't help but feel the loving atmosphere that was illuminating from the family. Then he remembered how his own family was like, and was a bit envious of them. The man of the house stood up and shook his hand.

"Hey, there Chase," the man greeted, giving him a firm handshake. "I've heard everything about you from the mayor. I'm Fredrick, but you can call me Fred."

"Nice to meet you, Fred."

"And I'm Cali," the woman added. "I'm sure you'll find it amazing to be a farmer."

"She's right at that!" Fred agreed. "Why don't we show you a few pointers, though?" Fred walked out of the house with Chase and led him to a close field. "Here's our strawberry field."

"Why aren't they ripe or even sprouted yet?" Chase asked.

"Well, we planted them yesterday."

"Yesterday! But don't strawberries grow year round!" Fred laughed at Chase's suggestion.

"You've been living in the city for too long Chase!" He bent down and picked up some dirt. "Strawberries are a spring crop. You can only plant and harvest them in the spring."

"Are you serious!" Chase couldn't believe it. 'Was farming this restricting!'

"Yep. So remember to make sure you plant the right crops at the right season." They left the fields and soon came upon a few barns and stables. Fred whistled, and a dog ran towards him. The dog was small, brown, and had floppy ears. And he was obedient as well as energetic. "Hey, Picker. Come see our new friend, Chase!" The dog Picker looked over at Chase. He ran to Chase started sniffing his shoes.

"Hey, buddy," Chase said while patting Picker. "Who's a good dog?"

"There you go, Chase. Always pat your animals to keep them happy." Picker decided he was bored of staying still and ran back to the house. Fred walked on into the barn. The interior held many cows and sheep. Fred took out a brush from his rucksack and started brushing a cow. "Remember to brush your animals daily, Chase."

"Right!"

"Why don't you try?" Fred asked, handing Chase a brush.

"R-really?"

"Yeah. I haven't brushed them yet, so help me out, will ya?" Chase hesitantly looked around, and after finding a docile sheep, began brushing it. The sheep made a small baa sound as Chase went up and down. As Chase went on with the other animals, he found that he quite enjoyed brushing animals.

"Alright, we're done!" Chase handed Fred back his brush, but he shook his head.

"Keep it. I know old Remu's still on the farm. She'll need some brushing from her new owner, don't you think?" Chase smiled and nodded.

"Yeah!" Then they left the barn and moved to the chicken coop.

"For some reason, chickens are happy when you lift them off their eggs," Fred explained as he lifted a chicken. "I guess it makes them free to move, but I'm not sure myself." Chase tried to lift a chicken, but it cawed at him and poked his head with its beak, multiple times. "Hahaha, the chickens have to entrust who gets the eggs, Chase! Don't lift one up if it doesn't trust you!" Chase rubbed his head and quietly watched Fred work. After Fred collected the eggs, they went back to the house, and by that time, the sun was setting. "So Chase, remember to water your crops everyday. And to keep your fields clean of any fallen wood, stones, or weeds. Don't rush everything, or you'll end up with no stamina and a lot of fatigue."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it down already!" Sitting on the house's porch was Kaitlyn, waiting for the both of them.

"Hey!" she cheered as they came back. She ran down the stairs and towards the two farmers. "So did Chase learn anything?"

"I'll say. He's learned not to mess with chickens!"

"Hey! I didn't know it would attack me!" Chase complained. Kaitlyn giggled at Chase, making him blush.

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. She looked in her bag and pulled out some onion seeds. "Here! This is for good luck for your farm!" She handed them to Chase, and he accepted them with nervous hands.

"Th-thanks," Chase stuttered. He felt his body give way and he fell onto the floor.

"Chase!" She help him to his feet, but he was about to fall once again.

"I-I guess I'm really tired all of a sudden."

"Here, I'll walk you home," Kaitlyn offered. She put his arm around her shoulder and began walking back to his farm. Chase's heart was beating like a drum.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ben shouted from the house's window. He zoomed out and pulled Chase's arm off of Kaitlyn. "I'll do it!" Then he shouldered Chase instead and pulled his face close to his. "There is no way that I'm going to let Kaitlyn fall for an idiot like you…!" he said quietly to Chase.

"Oh…" Chase said nervously.

"Well, the more the merrier!" Kaitlyn stated. They walked the pathway back up the hill, but Chase though it was more like he was forced back up. Night fell as they neared the town plaza.

"Wow…" Chase said, looking up at the sky. "The stars are beautiful!"

"They are, aren't they?" Ben asked.

"Yes," Kaitlyn agreed.

"Chase…" called a hidden voice. Hearing the call, Chase looked around him, but he didn't see anyone. "Chase…!" the voice called again. Chase looked back and forth, and then something caught his eye. At the top of the cliff, where the waterfall fell, Chase saw a shining light. Squinting, Chase could make out the outline of a person. It seemed like the person was moving his mouth in the words "Chase". Then Chase looked further and discovered it was a girl. She had green hair that was tied up into a ponytail and shining blue eyes. That was all Chase could notice about her. It was enchanting, as if Chase was seeing an angel. His eyes were glued to her.

"Hey Chase!" Ben yelled, shaking him up.

"Wha…?" he asked in a dream-like state.

"Don't fall asleep on me now! We're almost there!" Chase saw that he was right. They were already walking uphill to the farm.

"I saw a lady up on the waterfall…" Chase said, pointing up to the cliff.

"What? You're confusing the real world with your dreams!"

"No, I really did see it!"

"Tch. Whatever." They stopped at his house and knocked on the door. Lily opened it and let Chase come inside. "It's your sister's problem now. Later."

"Goodbye, Chase," Kaitlyn said with a smile.

"B-," Lily shut the door before Chase could finish the last two letters. She walked into the kitchen and continued making dinner. "Hey! What was that for, Lily!" He chased her into the kitchen until he was stopped by her spatula.

"You want dinner? Then be quiet!" she spat at him. Chase glared at her for a second, then gave up.

'It's not worth it…' He went into his bedroom but didn't turn on the lights. 'I'm so tired… I'll just sleep with my clothes on…' They Chase jumped into bed and fell asleep without another word.