Home is Where the Heart is

Savannah was back on her computer typing away at recoiling keys. Her screen bright, filled with words of a composing email. Behind the raven-haired young adult was boxes, in the distinct dark caramel brown. Her apartment now laid empty except for the few things she planned to sell. Living in New York stretched her wallet thin. Affording that plane ticket all the way back to Italy was going to be harder than she wished. If only her grandfather left some currency for her.

I can't really hate him about that though. Savannah slumped back onto air. She was sitting on a teal pillow upon the floor. Wasn't a very comfortable one, since her lower back started to hurt. Her front teeth snagged onto her pale pink bottom lip. The flesh was pulled back into her mouth, and her tongue ran across the chapped skin. The bad habit had to end, or she'd have rough lips. Her lake eyes glanced back to the packed and stacked boxes behind her. They really towered her sitting body. A deep breath reached her lungs when Savannah lifted herself to stand. Her feet carried her over to the moving boxes, and her hand touched the basic cardboard.

Am I really about to do this? Her eyes surveyed the white walls around her. The view of distant buildings towards Times Square through her picture-view windows. It's all just materialistic. Savannah pouted while leaning against the box tower. The hefty items supported her leaning weight. Putting her pros and cons on a mental scale to weigh, Savannah lost herself in her own head. She didn't notice that Skype was going off in the background. I'm alone here, but I have a job. Skype's sound desperately tried to get her attention back to earth. I have friends there, but can I really do farm life? The call was missed, and Savannah paced around the bare cherry wood floor. Her feet chilled to the lack of heat, it was cut off yesterday. She should be at Stardew Valley come the First of Spring anyway. What if I mess up? What if Abby or Sam don't remember me? What if... The second call broke through to her, and Savannah's cold feet stomped on the chilly floor. Scooting on into her pillow, she sat down and answered.

"Alice. Hey, what's up?" Savannah forgot to begin her sign language. Alice was having a hard time reading her sister's lips, and in result her head tilted in utmost confusion. "Oh!" Quickly Savannah regained the sentence to her sister with her fingers.

Fare ciacche, (squish) we're eager on your arrival. Mom can't stop talking about the ordeal. An innocent smile spread across the young Alice. That smile faded when Alice's hazel eyes recognized her own sister's dismay. Stop thinking like that. Alice's face fell into a disheartening pout.

"Stop thinking like what?" Savannah's left eye twitched and squinted in confusion.

You're spiraling into the questions of what if. That sand can't be touched, fare ciacche. You'll drown in your own thoughts. I can't have you depressed like you were after Nonno (Grandpa) died. Savannah's eyes drifted away from her sister's hands. It has been many years since that dark cloud rained and stormed on her head. The familiar pit of acid burned at her delicate heart. Melting its flesh away to leave a bloody mess in the center of her chest.

"That was just heartburn." Savannah's azure eyes snapped back to her sister. Alice crossed her arms in denial before starting her rant once more.

Liar. It only got worse when you were ripped from Abigail and Sam in the latter years. You became a walking zombie. School was your salvation, and you slowly regained your health. Although I still question it since you're still single and alo- Savannah waved both of her hands in front of the laptop's camera.

"Excuse me, is this a rant or a convention?" Savannah's eyes wearily squinted at her own sister. "Besides..." Savannah cleared her throat, slipping into her own Italian accent. "Come hai potuto ricordare tutto questo se avevi solo otto anni? (How could you remember all this if you were only eight years old?)" Savannah's hands were getting tired from the precise movements she had to keep. Curse her flesh and blood on skipping all of the English classes.

Alice shook her head with a snort. Oh, fare ciacche, you were my first study on human behavior. Ever since my arrival, I'm simply a robot to you. I don't understand emotions. Beep, boop, bop.

Savannah chuckled slightly. "You're not a robot, you're more of a bitch." Savannah's hand emphasized on the word bitch, and gently hit her chin with the side of her index finger. Alice gave out a hoarse, and loud laughter. The girl couldn't realize her own sound waves, coming from her mouth. Savannah didn't care, it means Alice was happy. Alice could speak, although it wasn't great pronunciation, or very loud, sometimes too quiet. Their mother had Alice about a month too early, and it was soon realized the baby couldn't detect voices. Alice had no use of her ears. The girl lived in silence, with only the brightness of the sun and stars to guide her life. Over the course of her life, she learned many things, from how to read lips, to sign language. Thus, however, silenced her from the world. Alice shut herself off from most civilization, despite the attraction to human behavior. There was a glow in her quiet dark space. Savannah was Alice's voice, whenever Alice couldn't get what she wanted out.

Have you contacted Mrs. Hatchet yet? Alice's delicate and tiny fingers moved. Savannah groaned while flopping down onto the hard icy floor. Reaching towards the sun, Savannah began to speak with her hands again. "I was just composing that email. I lost myself in train of thought." Flinging back forward, moving her legs to sit back on her pillow. The sister on the other line rolled the pink muscle in her mouth. It tasted the minted teeth, with a cleansing feeling. Alice only did this when she thought about what to say next.

You shouldn't be afraid, fare ciacche, they'll love to have you back. I'd love to have you back. You need to be close to home again. All that smog in the city can't be good for you. Besides, I need someone to help me swallow more of mom's horrid cooking. A snicker fell from Alice's lips. Savannah only shook her head smiling.

"I know piccola rosa (little rose), you miss me. And I'm still on my way back to Italy, but..." Savannah's azure eyes made contact with the egg shell wall to her right. Alice made a little squeak of a sound. "Purché? (But?)" The Italian accent was scratched from Alice's vocal cords. The look of distress stained Savannah's olive complexion. Pulling both bottom and top lip into her mouth, Alice lifted her hands to ask the simplest question.

Anxiety?

The second Alice's hands drop to finish, Savannah slumped in her spot. The heart that is burning in the pit of acid now raced to find a way to escape. Thoughts erratic, but thankfully her breathing was calm. Savannah wasn't fully in a panic attack just yet. With how her brain attacked her with questions she had no answers to, she was reaching it though. Alice wiggled her index finger in front of her camera. She could tell her sister was starting to spiral into her own overwhelming darkness. She held that single finger up, waiting for Savannah to do the same.

Come on.

Savannah sighed, lifting her index finger up. With her left hand occupied, she had to speak in Italian for right now. "Sai, mi fa apparire un idiota, giusto? (You know, it makes me look like an idiot, right?)" Alice only laughed in compliance. The hazel eyed sister stuck her tongue out to the camera.

At least you look stupid with me, fare ciacche. Alice teased her elder sister, until ending it with a curse word. It was then, Savannah was startled by a familiar elder woman's voice. "Alice! Lingua!(Language!)" Of course Alice didn't spin to look at her mother. The woman sighed, almost forgetting about the predicament.

Savannah's face brightened with a smile however. It's been a few months since she heard her own mother's voice. "Mamma! Dove padre? (Mother! Where's father?)" Even though Alice was still on the screen, Savannah called out to her mother. Reluctantly, Alice shifted the computer to have the camera face their mother. The sisters mother's face lit up with joy. Her eldest daughter hadn't spoken to her in months, Joja Corp had her working to the bone.

"Savannah! Oh mio caro, è così bello vederti.(Oh my dear, it's so nice to see you.)" Soon ramblings of fast speaking Italian came from the mother. A few things about when was she arriving, if she was doing well. Alice in the background mocked her by mimicking her hand movements to look like talking. When their mother landed on the question if Savannah had a love interest, Alice howled with laughter. Savannah's cold palm met with her agitated face.

"Nessuna madre. Io non. (No mother. I do not.)" The angry and arrogant tone that fell from her eldest daughters lips only infuriated her mother. From curse words to watch your tone, even don't speak to me like that came from the angry Italian woman. Alice gave a sly smile to her sister as if to say, You're in for it now. Savannah simply smirked as she began to speak with her hands. You sure about that, piccola rosa? Savannah knew after this argument, her mother would turn on her sister about her secret meetings with Youtube videos. You can learn a lot of disgusting words and phrases through the language of hands with that site. This rant however, had to cease.

"Mamma, sarò in Italia domani. (Mom, I'll be in Italy tomorrow.)" The anger melted away from the woman's face. For all Savannah could understand, her mother was bipolar. Either that or just a robot trying to understand the basic needs of human interaction. Mother began to pace back and forth with excitement. "Domani?! Sei sicuro?(Tomorrow?! Are you sure?)" Savannah smiled to reassure her mother. Sparing her sister further arguments she couldn't hear, as well as the constant pacing. Savannah dropped a bomb every mother would love, one of their children coming back home. Even though Savannah has already made it clear, she will not be in Catania. Stardew Valley was still quite a drive from the nearest city. Returning the favor, Alice ended the Skype call. Savannah still had to get to work on the email.

"Great, back to this crap again." Savannah pressed her cold cheek against the wood of the low coffee table. Her slender finger circled on the touch pad of her laptop, pulling up Chrome. The draft the composing email stared at her in the face.

Dear Robin Hatchet,

It has come to my knowledge that Meadowgrove Farm is unoccupied, and you are still missing the deed to it.

Savannah remembers the hours before the excitement she researched the town. To her surprise, they had a website. It might have been simplistic, but it was fairly well made. She wondered who in the Valley made it. Someone good with computers she figured. And of course, on the website, was Meadowgrove Farm. The only legal issue they had was the deed. Lewis Murphy had no possession of the paper. Little did they know it was in Marco Rossi's granddaughters hand. At least until this email. The only one she could get a hold of in the matter was their local carpenter. Of course there was an email to Gus Marino, but a chef in the matter might not be the best choice. Savannah however sat back on the name for a moment.

"Marino, Marino... why does that sound- Oh! Marino!" Savannah smiled all of a sudden while pulling up another simplistic website connected to Stardew Valley. The Stardrop Saloon was one of the places her grandfather took her within the Valley. She remembers having the greatest tasting pizza there, and if she wasn't in New York, she would probably scream it.

"Oh I don't know, Marotta's is good too." Savannah spoke out loud to the empty apartment. She chuckled to herself going back to her email.

I have knowledge on where this deed is. It resides with me. I'll be flying in from New York City to reclaim my grandfather's land. Please notify Lewis for me.

Sincerely, Savannah Rossi

With a deep breath, Savannah sent the little email on its merry way. Hopefully it will be read soon, or her arrival will be a surprise.

A/N: Okay I'll admit, there is no Marotta's in NYC. But it is in NY. And it is fucking good pizza, okay?