Episode 8: Moving On Up
Wednesday, 22nd Of Summer, 1976
Early in the morning, I heard knocking on my door.
*Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!*
I groggily woke up, still in my pajamas.
"Who the heck is this...?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"Who is it?" I shouted.
"Luke!" Was the reply I heard.
My eyes popped open in surprise. He must be here to get the cash to enlarge my house!
"Hang on!" I shouted back, then I grabbed my wallet which is next to my diary on the side table drawer, then I opened up the door and found Luke standing there.
"Oh! sorry if I came too early." Luke apologized.
"Don't worry, it's nothing." I said.
"Good. Anyway, the price to have me and my boys enlarge your house is $5000. So what'll it be? Take it or leave it?" Luke asked me.
I checked my wallet. I now have $8510, so I'm all good.
"Yeah. Here," I said, handing Luke $5000.
Now I got $3510. Luke smiled and put the money I gave him in one of the pockets of his jeans.
"Alright, we'll start working tomorrow. Trust me, Tony, you won't regret this," he said.
"I know I won't," I replied with a contented smile, then Luke left.
I fed my chickens and put them in their eggs in the shipping box. I then checked my wallet. I got enough to buy Michael's sprinkler!
"Yes!" I grinned, feeling so overjoyed I could hop around for thirty minutes, but instead, I ran on over to Neighbor Town right away.
"Michael!" I called as soon as I barged in the door.
"Whoa! Tony! Where's the fire!?" Michael gasped, all startled, even Ann, who nearly dropped her screwdriver trying to screw a bolt into the side of her machine.
"Darn it!" She cursed when the screwdriver clattered on the floor.
"I'm sorry, Ann. Mike, I'm back! I'm back to buy your sprinkler!" I said as I approached the service desk Michael is standing behind.
"Dynamite! Its right over there waiting for you." Michael smiled.
I walked on over to the showcasing table and grabbed the sprinkler and carried it on over to the cash register desk where Michael is waiting for my purchase.
"I also brought my old watering can," I said to Michael as I set the sprinkler on the desk along with the watering can.
Mike nodded at me then punched a few buttons on the register, and I heard it make a *ding!* noise and I heard the sound of the slot where cash is stored open up on the register.
"Okay... $2000?" Mike said.
"Here it is," I said giving him the money.
"Great. I'll send it on over to your shed later," Michael promised.
"Thanks. I'm going to go visit Nina and her mom. See ya," I said and left.
I traveled to the northeastern part of town to reach Nina's flower shop. The indoor bell rang as soon as I entered.
"Tony! Good morning!" Nina's mom Liz greeted me.
"Hello, Liz. I'm just here to but two more bags of grass seeds," I said.
Liz tilted her head in a confused manner. "Again? You must be planning on raising cows and chickens."
"I don't have any cows yet, but I do have three chickens," I said as I walked on over to the desk where the bags of seeds are being sold and grabbed ten bags of grass seeds.
"That'll be $40," Liz said.
I gave her the money.
"Excellent! Have a nice day!" Liz said cheerfully.
"I will! thanks again," I said.
I walked back outside and passed by Nina watering flowers in the flowerbeds.
"Good morning, Tony!" she called out to me.
"Morning," I waved as I walked by.
"Tony! How's it going?" A man I haven't been acquainted with called out to me.
"Hey!" I waved.
As I walked down the street, more and more people waved hi at me. Soon I passed by the church, and there was Maria, sweeping the pavement with her broom.
"Hi, Maria," I called as I approached.
"Hello, Tony. how are you today?" Maria regarded me with a pleasant smile.
"I'm good. Just taking a walk around town, that's all. Hey, Matt!"
"Morning, Tony!" Matt said as he walked by.
A lot of people are in a good mood today. And they should be. The temperature of the summer heat has dropped a few degrees today, it's safe to go out without breaking a hundred beads of sweat, why shouldn't we be happy? I walked into the town square and sat down near the water fountain. I inhaled, exhaled, and looked up at the sky.
"Beautiful day, isn't it, Tony?" A familiar voice nearby said.
It was Ellen. She walked up next to me, sitting down beside me. I was a bit startled when I suddenly heard her voice, but now, I feel calmer now that she is sitting beside me.
"Hi, Ellen. Great day to sit out here and look up at the sky, huh?"
"Yeah," Ellen said with a relaxed sigh as she looked up at the sky.
Then she looked at me. our eyes met each other almost at the same time.
"Tony... I want to ask you something," she said, looking into my eyes so intently, my heart was almost racing, because I can tell she wanted to tell me something personal.
"Sure, fire away," I said, trying to stay cool, even though being near Ellen made my body heat rise a bit and my heart beat two times faster than normal.
"Did you... have a dream about me last night?" She asked.
I should have seen that question coming.
"Dream? Well, once. It was when we were together here at the square at some festival towards the end of the year. I remember it was nighttime, and you were telling me how much you're happy that you met me," I said.
"Oh, that must be the Starry Night Festival, then," Ellen confirmed.
"Oh, I see... What about you?" I asked. "Me? Yes, I dreamed about you last night." "Really? Do you remember what happened in your dream?" I asked.
"A little. It felt more like a movie than a dream because it felt a little too real. In my dream, we got married. Tony... Do you think dreams can become a reality...?" Ellen asked me.
I frowned for a second and then shrugged, and pulled off my cap to scratch my itching hair.
"...Uh, I think, sure. My Mom told me a story once of how she fell in love with my Dad. She said that before their third date, she had a dream that they would get married. she didn't think the dream would come true until it actually happened," I said, then put my cap back on my head.
"Oh. That's good to know," Ellen said.
"Is that so?" I said with a smug smile.
"Yes. If your parents never met each other, we would never meet each other at all," Ellen said, looking straight into my face with those gorgeous brown eyes.
She had a point. If I wasn't born, Ellen wouldn't have met me when she chased Koro to my ranch on the second day after my arrival to Grandpa's ranch.
"And if we didn't meet each other, I would never get the chance to look into your cute blue eyes," Ellen said, looking at me with a soft smile and this look in her eyes that made me break a few beads of sweat.
"R-r-really?" I've never gotten compliments like this before.
"Really," Ellen kissed me on my forehead.
I felt like I was going to faint, but luckily I didn't. I checked the time on my watch.
"Oh, Ellen, I gotta go back to the ranch. i'll talk to you some other time, okay?" I gave Ellen a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, Tony. Take care!" Ellen said, waving bye.
Thursday, 23rd Of Summer, 1976
Another great sunny summer day! I say that with sarcasm. I woke up and took a bath. While bathing in the warm water, scrubbing a bar of soap all over myself, I could hear Luke, Toby, Emmet and Ingo with their tools working outside. I ate breakfast, and then stepped outside.
"Good morning, Tony!" Ingo called, carrying a big wooden plank on his left shoulder
"Ingo! Good to see you!" I called back.
"Well well, look at the early bird who woke up to catch the worms," Luke approached me with a blueprint open in his hands.
"Luke. I'm glad you guys are here. This house needs a serious makeover," I said, pointing behind me at the house.
"Ah, don't worry, Tony. we'll make this house brand new, I guarantee it," Luke said reassuringly giving me a pat on my back, and then walked past me and studied the blueprints and barked out instructions and orders to Emmet, Ingo and Toby as they worked.
I walked up to Koro, who was standing near the well and picked him up, having him facing my house.
"Look at that, Koro. You see that? Those guys are expanding and upgrading my house. Soon, our lives here in the ranch will be much better. Don't you agree, Koro?"
"Waff...Woof!" Koro replied.
"Ah! I knew you'd see things my way!"
I put Koro back on the ground and went to my tool shed to try out Doug's sprinkler that I bought yesterday. I came back out and let the sprinkler soak up some water from one of my ponds, then I went to my garden and stood between the two rows of tomato plants. I held the sprinkler in my hands as if it were a parasol.
"Well, here goes nothing," I said, bringing the sprinkler underneath me so the dome shaped part will shield my head from the water. I twisted the handle with as much force as possible, and the propeller shaped arms of the sprinkler began spinning around like helicopter blades, sending water flying around me everywhere. landing on the soil and tomato plants around me.
I opened my eyes to see what's going on. The sprinklers are wetting all of the tomato plants! No more do I have to use the watering pail and water them one at a time! With this sprinkler, I can water 6 tomato and corn plants at once! I stopped squeezing the handle and looked around me. All the tomato plants are soaked! My lips began to twist into a satisfied smile.
"...Wahooo! Thank you, Michael!" I cheered.
I then moved on to the cucumber plants, soaking them, then I moved over to the row of corn stalks and let my sprinkler loose on them too. Then my job was done in seconds, unlike with the watering can I started out with! Then I moved on to my chicken house and fed my chickens and put their eggs in the shipping box. Then I decided to go to Neighbor Town and see how everybody is doing. Long walks to town and back don't seem to be bothering me anymore.
I went to Nina's flower shop. As usual, she is watering the flowers with her watering can. I walked up to her.
"Hi, Nina."
"Tony! How are you doing? Hey, do you like flowers?" She asked me.
"They sure are pretty, I'll say that much." I said.
"Really? I like flowers, too!" Nina smiled.
"What about Liz? does your mom like flowers too?" I asked.
"Uh-huh. Definitely!" Nina nodded.
"Cool. Well, I won't distract you any longer, so I'll see you later. A farmer's job is never done, you know!" I said and walked off.
"Bye, Tony!" Nina waved.
I then headed on over to the church. I saw Maria sweeping the dirt off the brick road, as usual.
"Hi, Maria. How's life treating you?" I greeted her.
"Fine," She simply said.
I exhaled, glancing up at the sky but being careful not to look at the sun, squinting my eyes.
"It's been hot every day, but how are you doing?" She then asked me.
"I'm doing great. My house is getting enlarged by Luke and his team of carpenters," I said.
"That's wonderful. It's fine to upgrade your lifestyle every now and then, but always remember what really give you joy," Maria said.
"I will. Bye," I said.
"Please take care of yourself not to be worn down by this awful summer heat," Maria warned me.
"I won't," I replied.
I headed for the church. I looked to my right on the right side of the church, I saw that little boy peeking from behind one of the tombstones. He must be peeping at Maria. I sighed and smiled. Kids will be kids. I walked on over to the tombstone he is hiding behind and scared him as soon as he attempted to take another peek at Maria.
"Boo!" I scared him.
"Wah! You! What are you doing, scaring the wits out of a six year old boy!" He demanded, still in shock.
"I was just wondering who were you peeping at from behind there." I replied.
The boy didn't reply, he couldn't even keep direct eye contact on me.
"Are you peeping at Maria over there?" I asked, pointing over at Maria, still sweeping dust off the cobblestone road to the church's doors.
"Y...Yes... She is really cute," The boy slowly admitted.
"Ahh... You don't like that red haired girl who was "dating" you during the flower festival, but you like Maria, huh?" I sat down on the dirt.
The boy nodded. He is blushing now.
"I love Maria. I wish she would be my bride in the future," He said.
I nodded. "I know how you feel... but aren't you like, twelve years too young for her?" I asked him.
"Age has nothing to do with love!" The boy shouted, fuming, and his outburst startled me, I had no idea he has such strong feelings.
"Okay, sorry I offended you," I said in a apologetic way.
"When you love a girl, things like her age mean nothing! It's whats in her heart what counts! You understand me?" The boy frowned at me.
I really set him off. Those are some big, moving words coming from a 6 year old. I better not make him explode again. I nodded to show him I understand, then I stood up on my feet and headed off into the church.
I walked down the red carpet to the altar, where priest Daniel is reading a book.
"Priest Daniel. Good morning," I called as I approached him.
"Ah, Tony. How good to see you. What brings you here?" Daniel, put his book down on the table next to the book that tells the list of all the festivals in each season.
"Nothing, really. I'm just in a good mood today, and I just wanted to say hello to everybody. My sickle got upgraded, my watering can is replaced for a handy sprinkler, and my house is being enlarged, so I'm feeling great." I told him, then ate a croissant I pulled out from my pocket.
Daniel smiled modestly and nodded in approval. "Well, that's good to hear. It seems I was right to believe that the Harvest Goddess would bless your ranch. You're a good person, Tony."
"Thank you. By the way, what are you doing here all by yourself here? I thought you'd be mingling with the citizens." I asked him.
"Oh... I was just thinking about... certain people," He replied, looking at the glass windows around the room.
"Who?" I asked at the moment I stood next to him.
Daniel shook his head. "Its not one or two individuals. It's many. People who cheat, and people who are cheated. When I think of people who cheat and who are cheated, I suppose being cheated is kind of better than cheating someone. I do think so," Daniel said with a forlorn look on his face.
I was confused. "In what way is that better?" I asked with a confused frown.
Daniel sighed then looked at me with a serious, pensive look in his eyes. "Let me ask you something, Tony." He paused for a second. "Do you really believe that you can truly live a happy life knowing you swindled one, two, or more people to get where you are today?" he asked me with complete seriousness in his voice.
I never imagined that. I was never raised to be a cheater, but there is some truth in there somewhere.
"Ah... perhaps I said something that your brain can't fully grasp?" Daniel smiled a little.
"Yeah..." I nodded.
"My apologies."
"Apology accepted." I said as I sat down on a chair.
A six second pause went by, and Daniel found another interesting topic to talk about.
"Tony, have you ever got the feeling that time goes by fast when you don't notice it?" He asked me as he sat down next to me, staring up at the ceiling.
I shrugged. "Every now and then, yes. Why?" I asked.
Daniel continued to look up at the ceiling. "I felt time went by slowly when I was young. Now time goes by too fast, and one year seems short. It's strange, really," Daniel sighed.
"Strange... I think that word doesn't even begin to cover it," I said.
"Well, I suppose you're right. Well, it was good talking to you, Tony. I don't want to keep you any longer than I have to." Daniel said modestly, shaking my hand.
"Thank you, priest Daniel. I'll see you this Sunday if I can make it," I said and walked down the red carpet to the exit door.
"I look forward to it," Daniel replied.
After a few hours of chatting with the mayor and his wife, I headed back to the ranch. it is late noon, and Luke and his carpenters are still hard at work on my house. Emmet is using his saw to cut the wood on the left side of my house, Ingo is measuring the rooftop, Toby was bringing out wood from my woodshed and studying them and trimming them down to the appropriate size needed for my house, and Luke was reading the blueprints of what my house will soon look like. I felt guilty seeing these guys do all this work on their own. I wanted to help out somehow. I walked up to Luke, who was studying hard at the blueprints.
"Uh, okay, Toby, I need five logs about 10 feet in length and 5 inches in width to the left side of the house, please. Emmet will need them soon," Luke instructed Toby.
"Got it, boss," Toby replied.
I walked up to Luke behind him.
"Uh, Luke?" I called.
I startled him, he quickly turned to face me.
"What?... Oh, it's you. don't ever scare me like that," Luke exhaled with relief.
"So how's my house doing?" I asked.
"So far so good. We've only gotten started. Just be patient, and don't disturb us," Luke instructed me.
I nodded. "Okay. How long can you guys work on this?" I asked.
"All day and all night. We've been trained to work hard like this. Why do you think we drink so much coffee every now and then?" Luke asked me, focused on the blueprints.
"Oh. Well, I won't disturb you anymore. See ya," I left Luke's side.
I wanted to help out in some way. I could help Toby carry wood out from my wood shed.
I walked up to Toby as he came out the shed with two logs on his shoulder.
"Hey, Toby. Need any help?" I asked with a friendly smile.
"Oh no, just do what you have to do, okay?" Toby protested.
I felt hurt. All I wanted to do was help. Ah, it couldn't be helped. I decided to go in the house and watch T.V. I took Koro in the house with me, and all afternoon and evening, we watched television. Benjamin The Cottontail Rabbit doesn't come on until Saturdays, so I'm stuck watching some shows that I hardly have any interest in. I mostly watch cartoons, by the way. yeah, I know what you're thinking. Hey, 21 year olds can watch cartoons too, you know! You gotta stay in touch with your inner child every now and then.
Friday, 24th Of Summer, 1976
The sound of Emmet's saw grinding on the wood of my house woke me up immediately. I took a quick shower, made a peanut butter jelly sandwich, ate it, got dressed into my overalls, I put on my blue cap and stepped outside.
"Good morning, Tony," Luke approached me with a cup of coffee in his right hand and sipped it.
"You guys seriously worked all night?" I asked in utter disbelief.
Luke put the coffee in front of my face then sipped it again.
"That's the magic of coffee," Luke smiled.
I smiled back. I walked to my garden to check on my crops. Some new tomatoes, corn and cucumbers are ready to be picked! I picked them all and tossed them into the shipping box, then I took care of the chicken eggs and fed the chickens. After that, I looked around and I saw more weeds growing around my ranch! I didn't want to use my new sickle and tire myself out. I might as well use my hands.
"*sigh*... If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself..." I said to myself and walked to the nearest clump of weeds which is growing behind my tool shed.
I tightened my gloves, and yanked the weeds out of the ground and threw them down.
"There! That'll teach you not to grow on my ranch! Now the sun rays will teach you and your friends a lesson!"
I don't know what came over me, talking to weeds. I guess I felt like some kind of superhero, saving my ranch from the overpopulation of weeds, rocks and old tree stumps around my ranch. I went around my ranch, yanking every weed I could find out of the soil and leaving them on the ground to wither in the sun's hot glare. Then I expanded the size of my ranch a little, using some of the wood from my wood shed to expand my ranch further out to the east, making new fences. The job took almost the whole day to do. by the time I was done, Derek arrived to pick up my shipment.
"Hey, Tony! Hey, Luke! What a coincidence seeing you and your friends here!" Derek called to me then to Luke.
"Likewise, Derek! I see you won't be retiring anytime soon!" Luke replied.
"Oh, no, I'm a little too young to quit or retire, I'm 34. I'll be 53 when I'm ready to retire," Derek replied, stuffing the tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and eggs into another box.
"Ha-ha-ha! Okay!" Luke laughed.
"Oh, Tony, I'll be sending you $2750 tomorrow. Keep up the good work!" Derek said and left.
I whistled to Koro. He came running at me and I picked him up.
"Come on, Koro, let's take a rest inside," I said as we walked into the house.
Inside the house, as I watched T.V., the noises coming form Luke and his team working on my house began to grow louder and annoying, Emmet's saw chewing wood, Ingo, hammer pounding nails, I just couldn't take it! I can only hope this will all end soon.
Sunday, 26th Of Summer, 1976
"BRRRINGGG!" An alarm clock went.
"Yaaawn..." I woke up.
The sound of carpentering tools buzzing in my ears bothered me all night, but somehow I managed to sleep through it. Strange thing is, I didn't hear anything anymore, and I thought I heard an alarm clock ringing when I woke up. I don't recall ever having an alarm clock, and my house looked slightly different. The bathroom has expanded a few feet east, and so has the kitchen. Now my bathroom has not only a bathtub, but also a shower stall in the corner, something extra that Luke and his carpenters have done, apparently. I showered, brushed my teeth, dressed into my overalls and cap, and ate pancakes. I just learned how to make pancakes from a cookbook I bought from Ellen's mother yesterday. Then I watched the weather news. Then I got the surprise shock of my life. The weather woman said: "This is the weather forecast for tomorrow. It'll start to rain hard in the morning with lightning in some places in Neighbor Town's location and Mineral Town."
I couldn't believe it. We are finally getting rain tomorrow!
"We... We are finally getting rain tomorrow...! Whoopee!" I grabbed Koro and spun around with him and burst out of the door, shouting: "It's raining tomorrow!" I shouted in a singsong way, like I was in a musical.
"Yeah, tell us something we don't know," Ingo said as he walked by me, cleaning the sawdust off his gloves.
"Hm," I shook my head.
Then Toby and Ingo approached me.
"Look, isn't it an excellent house?" Luke asked me.
"Huh?" I turned around.
My eyes widened. My house is three times wider than it originally was, and it also had a window on the right side of the door, a new feature that the house orignally did not have!
"U-u...unbelievable..." I was at a loss for words.
Luke stepped in front of me and outstretched his right hand at the house as if he's an artist examining his greatest masterpiece.
"I call it the Super Log House."
I frowned at the name. "Super Log House?" I echoed while looking at Luke with a disbelieving frown.
He could easily see that I am not too fond of the name. He could have come up with a better name.
"Oh, but the way, I gave you a special souvenir clock for free," Luke told me.
"You gave me a clock?"
"Yes," Luke nodded.
"Neat. So that's what I heard when I woke up," I said.
"I hope you enjoy your new house. Just to let you know, we can make it better," Luke said like a salesman trying to catch a customer's interest.
My eyes widened. "You can make it better?" That is definitely music to my ears.
"All you have to do is get enough wood, make enough money, then come see me. We'll be at the mountainside forest like always. Pleasure doing business with you, Tony," Luke said and left.
Emmet, Ingo and Toby followed. I went back in my house. On the table next to my T.V., behind the notebook where I keep a list of the animals I have in my farm, including Koro, and my latest funds. I've made every day, I saw the clock. It's 7:58 a.m.
"This is great...!" I grinned.
I got so happy I was watering my crops and feeding my chickens with much more joy than before. After doing the usual mundane farm work, I ran on over to Neighbor Town.
When I got there, I saw that the peddler woman is back in town. I went into the park to meet her.
"Hi there. Got anything new today?" I asked her.
Those emotionless, squinty eyes looked at me.
"Ah, yes, I got something just perfect for a young man like you." She dug into her bag... And pulled out a big blue feather.
I frowned. "A feather? That's it? It's worthless. What's it for?" I asked skeptically, thinking about walking away.
"But boy, this is no ordinary blue feather. This is the Blue Feather of happiness..." She scratched her spiky gray hair. "...Well happiness is different for each one though. But, because it is known as a happiness bringer, it is also used today as a proposal tool for a boy an girl who want to be a married couple." She continued.
I gasped. With this thing, I can ask Ellen to marry me! Oh my...! I felt like my heart skipped several beats.
"Right now, it's only $1000!" The woman said.
Immediately I whipped out my wallet. "Now that I know what this thing is, I need it!" I told the woman.
"Ahh, I knew you would need it," The woman smiled.
I gave her $1000, then she gave me the blue feather.
"God bless you!" The woman smiled as she gave me the feather.
I grabbed it and put it in one of my pockets. "It is me who should thank you!" I smiled then left for the church.
As soon as I came in, I took a seat next to Ellen As usual she was sitting behind her mom.
"Oh! Tony!" Ellen exclaimed but in a whisper, she is apparently surprised to see me.
"I don't have much to do at the ranch, so I decided to hang with you for a while," I said.
Ellen giggled softly. "Thank you, Tony." She wrapped her right arm around my left arm, and we fell silent, listening to priest Daniel preach about how love and happiness is paramount to all life.
Minutes later, I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as my thoughts drifted back to the blue feather in my pocket. My mind started racing nervously. I really love Ellen, but am I really ready to marry her? Will I be a good husband to her? Does she really deserve me? I looked down at my pocket where my newly purchased blue feather is. I wondered, should I propose to Ellen now, or wait until later? I'm not very good at making decisions like this. I am excited, and terrified at the same time. What if Ellen rejects me? What if I'm rushing into this too quickly? Can I really be a good husband to her? All those questions raced wildly in my mind. I looked at Ellen. Her eyes were closed and she was praying about her Dad staying in good health as she held me close.
"... And so, you should ask yourself: "What is the true definition of love"? Too often people misinterpret the meaning of "love". Some believe its only defines the the urging and longings we feel towards a loved one, but no. It means more than that." Daniel paused there for a few seconds for his words to sink into everyone and his eyes scanned the people sitting in the rows of benches, listening intently to him. "... To start with, one of the true definitions of "love" defines the empathy you have towards another person. You worry about their health, you worry about their sanity, you worry about whether or not you can actually enrich their lives."
As soon as Daniel said that, I realized something. I realized that I really do care about Ellen, my feelings for her run deeper than the urge to be with her and have children with her. I was worried about whether I am the right man to become her husband because I want what is best for her. I found the determination to to make my decision. I'll wait. A good person doesn't rush into things without thinking them over first. I decided that I would plan a day when I will propose to Ellen.
After church ended, I headed back to the ranch. By the time I got there, it is nightfall, and I brought Koro into my house, because it'll rain tomorrow. I ate dinner, a rice ball, and jumped in my bed and wrote in my diary about my upgraded house, my blue feather, and my decision to wait to propose to Ellen. I haven't chosen a day yet, all I can say is it'll be sometime this year. As I pulled my bed sheets over my body, I held the blue feather in my hand and laid it on my chest. It's amazing to know that this blue feather is the key to pure happiness with Ellen. I fell sound asleep knowing that. As I drifted off into a deeper sleep, I had a dream. In that dream, I was wearing a black tuxedo, and I was walking towards the exit of the church with someone. I noticed that someone was holding my right arm softly. I looked to my right, and I gasped. There was Ellen walking next to me. Man oh man! She looked drop dead beautiful in a wedding dress! She looked stunning with the sparkling white see-through veil over her face... I couldn't believe it.
How can a rancher like me end up with an amazing girl like Ellen? Life has its ironies. Ellen looked at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. As we came out the church, everyone was outside to celebrate our wedding. Ellen's parents and uncle were there, Nina and her mom, Ann and her dad, Maria and her parents, and even Eve. Priest Daniel came in front of us. He cleared his throat before speaking.
"Tony, do you take Ellen to be your loyal wife, through sickness and health, through happiness and depression?" He asked me.
"I do," I replied with a confident nod, even though deep down, my heart was racing.
"Ellen, do you take Tony to be your loyal husband through sickness and health, through depression and happiness?" He asked her.
"I do," Ellen said with more courage than me.
Everyone cheered. "It's settled! I now pronounce you two husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," Daniel said.
This is it. I lifted the veil off from in front of Ellen's face. She smiled at me. I blushed and smiled back. Me and Ellen leaned towards each other, our lips ready to smooch. Then something unexpected for me happened. I woke up out of my dream to find myself leaning over the edge of my bed!
"Aaah!" I fell over! THUD! I landed on the floor face first, but fortunately I did not break my nose.
Monday, 27th of Summer, 1976
I woke up. I rubbed my bruised forehead and prepared to shower. After showering, I had to take a leak and clean my intestines of the pancakes and rice ball I ate yesterday, then ate breakfast, another peanut butter jelly sandwich. I also fed Koro, too.
"You hear that, Koro?" I asked him.
Koro remained silent, he didn't bark in reply. All we heard is rain falling outside.
"That's the sound of the first downpour of this summer," I told Koro and opened the brown curtains covering the window.
Outside, on the other end of the glass, I saw heavy downpour of rain falling, soaking the ground and pelting the roof of my tool shed. I also heard thunder too. I sighed.
"I'd rather stay in the house, but I'll get nothing done that way. Wish me luck," I said to Koro before going out.
"Woof," Koro barked then started eating the kibbles from his bowl.
After putting on my overalls and a fresh shirt, I stepped outside. Even with my cap over my head, I could feel the cool raindrops beating down on me hard! I ran to the chicken house side of the barn to feed my chickens and put their eggs in the shipping box. After that, I did the same to my newly grown tomatoes, cucumbers and corn, picking the ripe ones out in the middle of the rain and taking them to the shipping box near the exit/entrance gates of my farm. After that, I began checking my fences to see if any of them need fixing. Unfortunately there are three that need fixing. One behind my house and wood shed, another at the northeast corner of my ranch 66 yards away from the barn, near a pond which is next to a full grown tree, and another close by that hollowed out tree which leads to the tunnel where I met those little men, whatever they are. I grabbed 6 pieces of wood, put them in my wheelbarrow and started out with the broken wood posts behind my wood shed. I busted them down with my hammer, then anchored the new wooden posts into the soil. Then I took a few more pieces of wood to bar the opening between the posts, using my hammer to nail the tacks into the wood. Then I did the same for the next two broken posts. It wasn't fun and easy work. took me all morning to finish all this.
After I was done, I started sneezing, and I could feel my wet clothes sticking close to my skin. I didn't feel like going to town today. Not in this harsh downpour. I headed back to my house. I was soaking wet to the bone! I changed out of my overalls and cap and put on a fresh T-shirt and pajama pants and left my overalls and cap in front of my fireplace. I took a match and lit the wood in the fireplace so that the heat will warm up my overalls. I sneezed again.
"Woof woof!" Koro barked at me.
I guess he is concerned about my condition.
"I'm fine, Koro. i just need some allergy medicine, that's all," I said.
I stood up out of my chair and checked my cabinets which is on the right side of the television. I opened cabinet after cabinet to find some medicine for sneezing. I found one, a small box filled with red pills which cures sneezing and other allergy reactions. I took one pill, and swallowed it, and drunk a glass of water along with it. Hours passed and all I did was stay at home watching television shows. I didn't feel like going out in that harsh rain again. I learned an important lesson that day, too. Be careful with what you wish for, because it might get you someday. Good thing it'll be sunny tomorrow.
Wednesday, 29th of Summer, 1976
Another bright and beautiful summer day! I showered, used the toilet, ate breakfast, watched the weather news, then jumped outside to feed my chickens and... You know my routine by heart, why am I explaining it over and over? I watered my tomato plants and corn stalks, too. Summer is almost over and soon the tomatoes and corn won't grow anymore. After taking care of things at the ranch, I headed over to Neighbor Town. A question is really bugging me, and I assume Nina's mom knows the answer.
When I reached town, I immediately headed over to the flower shop. I opened the door. Nina's mom Liz noticed me right away.
"Oh. Good morning, Tony. Here to buy more grass seeds?" She asked me.
"You guessed it, Liz, and there's something that I want to know," I asked her.
"What's that?" She asked me, using her hands to shape up her short, pretty pink hair.
"What grows in autumn?" I asked wistfully.
Nina's mom took a deep breath and sighed.
"Well, Tony, to be honest with you, I don't have anything that grows in the autumn, except grass."
"What? Why?" "Autumn is the season before winter.
"My inventory is not perfect. I can only sell turnip and potato seeds in the spring, and tomatoes, cucumbers and corn in the summer. When winter comes, nothing grows. if you have livestock, I suggest you make more grass as quickly as you can if you want to keep your livestock happy and healthy through the winter," she said.
"Then in that case, I'll buy three grass seeds," I said.
Liz chuckled. "All right, then," she said, adding up the price of three bags of grass seeds on the register.
After leaving the flower shop, I decided to pay a visit to Ellen's uncle and buy a chicken from him. I opened the door and entered.
"Tony," Ellen's uncle called me.
"How are you, sir?" I asked.
"I'm just dandy. Summer is almost over. And when its over, all this blasted heat will be gone for t he year. But enough about that. State your business," he said.
"I'm here to buy a chicken," I said.
"You got enough grass to feed them?" he asked.
"I got 34 pieces stored in my silo but i'm working on getting more," I said.
"You're gonna need more than that to last through the winter!" He yelled, startling me so badly that my heart jumped.
Then he calmed down, brushing his hands in his gray hair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. Its just how I usually am," he apologized.
"It's okay. So how about the chicken?"
"A chicken costs $1000, but do you want one?"
"I sure do."
"Done! you just said the magic word! Go on and get one out back."
"Thank you sir." I said and walked out the silver door to the back of the livestock shop where all the cows and chickens are stored. I grabbed one of the chickens and left.
"You're coming home with me," I told the chicken wrapped under my arm.
I put the chicken in the chicken house with the other three chickens and gave its share of chicken feed. Then I spent the whole day and evening expanding the ranch further out east, and planting the grass seeds I bought out around a pond which is 48 feet southeast from the larger pond near my tool shed. After I was done, I went to my house and got some well deserved rest.
Thursday, 30th of Summer, 1976
Nothing interesting happened today so I'll make my explanation of this day short and sweet. This is the final day of summer, which means this is the final day I get to ship corn and tomatoes. But the eggs will still keep coming! After taking care of the eggs and tomatoes and corn and feeding my chickens, I went to the mountainside forest to chat with Luke for a while, and I climbed further up the mountain afterwards until I found a strange green fruit which had a strong smell to it. I ate it and it tasted very good! I have no idea what it was, but it made the taste buds on my tongue dance with joy. Then I climbed up to the mountain peak and watched the beautiful scenery all morning until noon, then I went to Neighbor Town to hang out with Ellen. We've been getting along great, talking to each other, kissing each other, I almost started thinking that marrying Ellen now wouldn't be a bad idea, but still, I want to play it safe. During the evening, I made up my mind to ask Ellen to marry me sometime after the Star Night Festival. I wrote in my journal and fell asleep. Summer is over. Tomorrow, fall begins.