The Past is A Cloud
Savannah's booted feet touched the pavement that is kissed by the afternoon sun. Catania's familiar scent of the sea, and freshly caught fish, wavered on over to Fontanarossa Airport. Overhead, the seagulls called out to the nearby oceans, searching for their home. Little bags in tow, Savannah made her way down the designated pathway. Opening the glass door, she was instantly met with a hug from her little sister. The impact made her spin on her heels.
"Woah! Alice! Slow down, I'm home. One day you'll kill me," but Alice didn't hear her sister's honey voice. The sudden bum-rush that Alice gave Savannah was enough to forget the fact that Alice was deaf. She had to peel her sister away in order for her to understand.
"Piccola rosa, you'll kill me with these hugs." Despite the few mistakes, Savannah's fingers moved elegantly like butterflies.
Oh, fare ciacche, you know you love every second your cells die with my squeezing arms. Alice finished by lifting her hand to her thin lips to hide a chuckle. Together, the flesh and blood walked side by side to the conveyor belt. Savannah had a few more bags to pick up besides the two she dragged behind her. The rest of her boxes and big items were on a separate plane. They would not arrive until two days time. Alice quickly found the two that were Savannah's. The girl was a sucker for blue butterflies.
Ever since Life is Strange you have been a sucker for the cerulean creatures. Like a fox, Alice quipped a smile. Savannah only snorted in a response. Alice snapped the handle up on the two, carrying them herself. Savannah had to tap on her sister's bony shoulder to regain her attention. The straight black hair whipped around Alice's shoulder, her olive skin, and hazel eyes stared to listen. Savannah stopped, she couldn't hold the bags and speak in hands at the same time. To top the whole thing off with a nice bow, she really didn't want to speak in Italian again. Living in New York for the past decade costed some of her knowledge of her primary language. Alice is right however, English is hard. There's a lot to keep track of in mental notes.
"Hey, that game is life, and amazing. Did I mention amazing?" Savannah smirked while crossing her arms after she finished. Loud, howling, laughter came from her sister's lungs. Nearby citizens burned their startling stares at Alice. Worry struck Savannah's healing heart. Despite living in New York, with the hustle and bustle of individuals crowded on the same street for the same taxi, Savannah hates having eyes spotlighted around her. However, the blame could not fall upon Alice, she had no acknowledgment of the sounds that resonated from her person. The toffee colored eyes reopened to face Savannah's dismay. Alice's face fell into her own melancholy, questioning her sister's misery.
Okay, squish. What's wrong? The gloomed cloud shrouded Alice's face, matching her sisters. In this moment, the world around may have seen them as twins. Except for the noticing fact of the mismatch eyes, and how Savannah was considerably taller than her younger sibling. The shifting morning dew eyes Savannah held was enough for Alice to decipher.
Alice inhaled the deep, salty air around her. A content grin peeled her lips back to her cheeks. Woops, I laughed loudly again, didn't I? Fare ciacche, they're staring at me, not you. Alice pouted just a little. The effort to cheer Savannah up took a while. The spiral of the mind was easy to loop around in circles to find bearings. Looking off to the side, Savannah distanced herself from the world, including her sister. Alice signaled no more of the matter, simply laughing a little more and wrapping her arm over her sister's shoulder. Alice's laughter was a little contagious, and Savannah soon snickered with her sister.
"Savannah!" A man in his late forties pushed open the glass doors to the airport. Savannah's face instantly lit up with delight. The raven-haired older sibling ran to her paternal father, arms open for a warm hug. Her bags were left behind on the cold, black and white, tile.
"Papa! Mi sei mancato! (I missed you!)" Their father laughed in response, hugging his eldest child. The reunion was interrupted with the fact that Savannah had to be in Stardew Valley in less than six hours. Alice started to gather the dispersed traveling bags. The clean up soon turned into a family event with father and daughters carrying five bags in total. The three made their way outside to a slightly beaten up, 2004 Honda CR-V. This was the family's first car since they ever landed in America. It traveled with them ever since. Climbing into the back right after Alice, the left door was jammed due to Savannah's early teenage days, Savannah settled in her spot. Savannah's chin rested on the driver's seat, noticing her mother was to get her from the airport to the Valley.
"Mamma, non posso essere tardi.(Mom, I can't be late.)" Savannah pouted, noticing her mother was too in-tuned with getting the radio to work. Savannah sighed, her back hit against her leathery seat. The car rocked a little from the motion. Alice looked to her sister, with the teasing grin and the devilish eyes. Unlike Savannah, Alice wasn't forced to listen to classical or even country music. However, she did have the curse to feel each note through the vibration of the back speakers. Savannah shook her head, slumping down into her spot more. The beat up phone was removed from her pocket as she searched for her nearby earbuds. Alessa Cara's echoed down to Savannah's eardrums. Scars to Your Beautiful began it's curse of making Savannah hum to the lyrics. Sleep took over Savannah's body, sinking it down into the padded leather seats.
As music corrupted her dreams, twisting them into nightmares, Savannah found herself at the end of a dark, distorted, hallway. In the nearby reality, Savannah's face scrunched and her body squirmed, in suffering. Alice just stared at her slumbering sister.
"Mama… Papa…." The sounds that came from Savannah's vocal cords were too young to fit her body. In the background, the recognizable song iNSaNiTY by Circus-P played in Savannah's darkening view. The reality Savannah enjoyed the song a little too much, and it was next in the playlist. Each exhale of hot breath that fell from Savannah fogged around her eyes. This place was cold, dark, and when Savannah began to run towards whatever in front of her, her feet felt like they were being stung. Using her hand as support for the nearby black wall, Savannah raised one of her feet. Glass ripped away at the tender flesh, digging only deeper as she dug some out. The effort was useless, and that realization left with a very confused Savannah.
Where the fuck am I? That question bounced around the walls, reverberating back to Savannah's ears. Light sparked in the distance, beckoning Savannah to run. Whilst pulling her hand from the pitch-black wall, it tugged back. Discolored tar tainted Savannah's hand. Disturbed by Savannah's palm, the wall receded, leaving black smoke as it inched away. The smoke tainted Savannah's breathing, causing it to be erratic and out of place. Her lungs felt heavy under the air around her. The flight instinct snapped into her, darting for the beacon of light down the hallway. The clashing sound of glass made Savannah's flesh crawl. With each step, she could feel every glass particle squirm into her feet. Minutes tick, seconds go by, and the light only gets further from Savannah's view. Desperate for freedom, Savannah tries her hardest to get out of this nightmare. Her body soon was shaking involuntarily. It wasn't rough, but made Savannah question.
Sun broke through Savannah's opening eyes. The rays blinded her for just a moment. Silence came from her earbuds, the playlist had stopped. Still there was music, but it was not classical or country. Pulling the white buds from her ears, Savannah sat up. Alice's hand was firmly on her sister's shoulder. Concern was plastered on Alice's face when Savannah took time to glance at it. However this wasn't her concern. It Ain't Me by Kygo and Selena Gomez played on the cars radio. This wasn't Savannah's full taste of music, despite Alessa Cara, although the song had a nice catch to it. Maybe it was the fact that the song was a breakup song. Although, Savannah had never been fully in love since her high school days. There is a reason why a crush is called a crush. A tap on her shoulder distracted Savannah from the song.
This isn't what mom usually chooses. I can feel it. What's the song? Savannah chuckled in response at first. The debate to either tell her about the song or something else had a miniature war in Savannah's head. A warm smile spread across Savannah's face as she came up with something clever. Since her sister couldn't hear the words, why not give her a way so she can understand them? As if her hands were two dancers on a public display, Savannah signed out the lyrics the best she could. Alice clapped softly, watching her sister's hands closely, not to miss a word. Finding a repeated pattern to the song, Alice joined in attempt.
That's a very pretty song. Alice smiled, but soon sighed out in sorrow. A question bugged at her mind, like it does to Savannah. But why is it so sad? The bad habit bit away at Savannah's lower lip. The question didn't really have an answer to Savannah. To her it was just a song, with saddened, angry, and hurt lyrics. Like every other crushed love within the universe. This one just had a celebrity speaking for them all.
"Piccola rosa," Savannah began to speak with not only her mouth, but as well as her hands, "It's just a breakup song. Like every other out there." This left a confused Alice. Savannah's palm met with her forehead. Of course her younger sister wouldn't understand the mere concepts of love and hurt songs. Alice would have to look up the words to even know what they were, or just like Savannah did, have someone translate. The beat of the song drowned out the vocals to her. Still they were all sound waves against Alice's calf. The conversation was dropped by Savannah diverting her attention to her window.
Green rolling hills and mountains passed by Savannah's view. The verdant grass blurred to the canvas around her. A passing by bush or so caught Savannah's lake eyes to glare at the object. Savannah must have been stuck in the unconscious mind of hers for a few hours, it was less than thirty minutes to the Valley. The dreadful American pop caught up with Savannah's ears. However, Savannah pushed back the sounds, reverting back into the familiar smells and scenes of Stardew Valley.
A nine year old Savannah darted down the dirt path. Her black hair flying away in strands, the length extending out almost twenty-four inches. Her designated destination was towards the Egg Festival. Behind her, at his usual pace, keeping the speedy little raven-haired child in view, Savannah's grandfather followed. Savannah stopped in front of Pierre's pink and spring stall. Her sights were already on what she wanted, the strawberries and the seeds for the ruby fruit. Savannah pointed to the bundle, and Pierre brought down the jar of strawberries and bag of seeds. The nine year old ran to her grandfather, holding the jar tightly in her arms.
"Nonno, oggi possiamo piantare le fragole?(Grandpa, can we plant strawberries today?)" Savannah's little feet was pushing off the ground, causing the little girl to be pushed towards the morning sun. The old man chuckled in response, the pure blue irises peaked through the squinted eyes.
"Of course, fiore, we'll plant them after the festival." Savannah handed the bag off to her grandfather, running towards her chestnut-haired friend. Marco shook his head, until Pierre caught his attention.
"Fragola?" Savannah held the jar full of the red fruit to her friend. Abigail's eyebrows twitched in confusion. She wasn't as fluent, or even knowing any, in Italian like Savannah was. Savannah laughed at her friend for a moment, and dug into the jar after she had opened it.
"It means strawberry. I got them from your dad!" Savannah held out a few of the crimson berries to Abigail. Abigail's face lit up with enthusiasm. Taking a few from her close friend, Abby began to eat them. The process caused a bit of the berries juice to be smeared on Abby's face.
"You look like you got lipstick all over your face!" Savannah laughed out, and Abigail tried to look down at her face. The attempt failed, leaving a cross-eyed Abby. The two were surrounded by their own happy laughter. In this moment, Savannah couldn't have been happier. Sam overheard the two, and when he saw Savannah had strawberries in tow, Sam plucked a few.
"Alright kids! Time for the big event!" Lewis was up on a box, cupping his hands over his mouth to get the attention of everyone. The trio ran to the center of the town, ready to start their hunt.
Reality broke into Savannah's eyesight. Alice was rocking Savannah's shoulders to wake her up from the distant memory. In a blur, Savannah didn't realize Alice wanted to speak with her. Taking the moment to stretch, her limbs pushed themselves away from her torso.
"Savannah, we're here." Savannah's eyes caught the hand movements her sister displayed. Turning towards the car window, Savannah took a deep breath. The sound of springs unhinging echoed through the portion of the Valley. It was so quiet, despite it being the middle of the day. Her feet met with the old pavement to Stardew Valley. Savannah's body pushed the car door closed, and her head swiveled to look behind her. There, stood her parents as well as one of her blood siblings, along with a bright red-head. It seemed that they were making small chat. The tall girl walked around the CRV, her hand running across the dirty back window. If she couldn't get use to the dirty window, then she might as well not call herself a farmer.
"And here she is!" Alice chuckled to herself, Robin was the only one who could not understand the deaf child. Her raven-haired and blue eyed sister shook her head, chuckling to herself. The red-head however, pipped up a conversation with Savannah.
"Oh, you're the new farmer! It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Robin Hatchet, the one you contacted? We have been setting up your little cottage, which is just past here, if you'd follow me." Robin gestured down the dirt path. The family followed the perky, short, ginger down to Meadowgrove farm. However, the overgrown farm thwarted Savannah's happy mood. Brush, trees, and grass littered the farm around her. Robin patted Savannah's shoulder, giving a light laugh.
"Oh cheer up! Yes, this place is a tad overgrown, but underneath that mess is fine soil. I'm sure you'll have this place cleaned up in no time. Come, come." Robin lead the family up the stairs to the cottage. Ten years left the place a little old and rickety. Up onto the small porch, Savannah glanced around. Her black combat boots gently tapped around on the wood as she walked back and forth. Tender fingertips brushed along the wood to her new home. Before Savannah could open her mouth, she heard a familiar voice within the walls of her cottage. It may have sounded older from the years that played the game of age, but still familiar to Savannah's ears.
"Sebby! When do you think she's going to get here? It seems like its been hours." A woman groaned in discontent behind the walls. A male gave a frustrated sigh. Seemed like he has heard this question for the fiftieth time.
"No Abigail, for the hundredth time, I don't know," Sebastian clenched his jaw whilst pulling on wires to get some leeway, "Just sit and wait. And be quiet. And stop calling me Sebby!" Sebastian whipped his head to look at Abigail. The purple hair girl had her cheeks puffed with annoyance, slowly blowing out her breath. Just at that moment, the door barged open, the now older raven-haired Savannah running on in. Happiness written on her face as if it were a script.
"Abby!" Savannah screamed almost so loud that nearby birds fluttered away from the cherry roof. Sebastian hated noise, but he was kind of distracted by the appearance of Savannah. The straight ebony hair, waved just in a few places. It stretched down her back, to meet just before her bottom. Just like Sebastian, Savannah towered Abigail. She might even be taller than him. Crystal clear eyes that caught the light in the room. Sebastian couldn't even realize that he was staring at this point. It took a couple of snaps from Abigail to get Sebastian. His dreadful nickname fell from Abby's lips a few times. How long was he just staring? He hadn't even notice the two were hugging each other, nor the entourage that followed behind Savannah. Now the fact that Savannah was giggling just a little at Sebastian's moniker.
"It's not Sebastian, it's – I mean – It's Sebastian not," Sebastian had to clear his throat just a bit. He stood from his spot, and by observation, Savannah was just a few inches shorter. Why was this new villager making him so nervous that he'd probably jump into shark infested waters? Savannah was just chuckling a little to the anxious Sebastian. Savannah let go of her old time friend and stuck her hand out to shake his.
"As you can probably guess my name from the little bug here, it's Savannah." Something bolted between the both of them, and they stood there, staring at each other. Expressions were neutral, as if recognition hit them dead on. Neither of them moved, and Sebastian's tense shoulders dropped away from the world. The mixture of dark oak, and the brightest of any lake eyes danced between the space of the two. The light, and very off-key, whistle came from Alice. Abigail fixed it up with the perfect tone. The two backed away, tension arose between the two. Savannah turned very quickly, to face her sister and her friend. Alice had a smug smile plastered on her face.
He's cute. Alice wiggled her brows, to tease Savannah. The sister hissed in response before signing, "Not now!" A blush stained Savannah's face for the rest of the day.