Episode 16: Honest Farmers Prosper
Monday, 24th Of Fall, 1977
Not much happened today, I just ate breakfast with Ellen, Pete and Koro, then I fed my cows, chickens and Zara, then I went out into the forest to chop more firewood from tree stumps.
Wednesday, 26th Of Fall, 1977
Around 7:00 a.m., Ellen and Pete and I have just got done taking a shower, and we were with Pete playing with his toys with him. Yesterday, I bought a rattle stick, and a few more stuffed animals- a tiger, koala bear, and panda bear, too, all from a toy store in Gueydan thanks to Derek giving me a ride up there and taking me back to my ranch. Gueydan is a very long walk from my ranch, and I don't feel like walking that long.
"Tony, play with Pete for a minute while I go cook breakfast," Ellen said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen.
So I stayed with Pete, entertaining him with his stuffed toys. A few minutes later, Ellen called us into the kitchen to start eating. What's for breakfast, you ask? Something special. Scrambled egg and bacon sandwich with strawberry jelly in it, and pancakes!
"A sandwich! Cool!" I smiled when my nose caught the familiar scent of bacon and scrambled eggs.
"I wanted to do something a little different, and I thought: 'Hey, why don't I make a sandwich for a change?' So here it is!" Ellen could see that I'm quite pleased with the sandwich.
I ate the pancakes first, then I ate the breakfast sandwich. it tasted sooo good with the soft bread, scrambled egg, crispy bacon and sweet jelly! Awesome combination! I looked over at Ellen who was feeding Pete regular old fashioned flavorless oatmeal.
"Darling, this sandwich makes my tongue dance!"
"I knew that would happen. Everything I cook tastes great to you," Ellen smiled.
Later, I came outside with Ellen and I got to work, feeding my livestock while Ellen was in the stable taking care of Zara, and introducing Pete to Zara. Afterwards, I went to the tool shed to get my super sickle to cut down some grass for fodder to my livestock. I don't like spinning around with that sickle, plus, I'm afraid that I might get dizzy and cough up my breakfast. But I did my work anyway, spinning around like a tornado with my super sickle at cutting up the grass. Yes, I got dizzy, but thankfully I didn't throw up. I took the huge piles of fodder into the wheelbarrow and stored them into the silo. I now got 655 pieces of fodder in there. That should be enough for 7 chickens and 3 cows to last through the entire winter. For the rest of the day after that, Ellen, Pete and I didn't do much, we just went walking around the ranch, getting some exercise, until evening and we returned to the house after Derek came by to pick up the milk bottles and eggs.
Friday, 28th Of Fall, 1977
While Ellen was cooking, me and Pete were sitting on the couch together watching the weather news, Pete is sitting next to me on my right. The weather forecast people say that it'll rain tomorrow morning all over Louisiana, the rain clouds are moving east from Texas towards Louisiana.
"Hey, Ellen, honey," I called.
"Yes, darling?"
"The weather forecast says that it will rain tomorrow," I replied.
"Oh... I guess that means winter is coming up soon," Ellen said as she brought our plates to the dinner table.
She made two bacon and egg sandwiches, two for herself, two for myself. I really love that sandwich- I had a feeling that she would make some more today.
"I bet as soon as I step outside today, it'll be a little cool out there. After all, you should see the forest- all the leaves on the trees have completely fallen out," I said.
Ellen nodded. "So what do you want to do in the winter, darling?" She asked me with an expectant smile.
She apparently has confidence in whatever idea I might have, so I gave it some thought.
"Well, before we teach Pete how to make a snow angel, i want to go up to the mountain peak first," I said while rubbing my chin.
"The peak? Why?" Ellen asked me.
"Oh... To see the view of the forest covered in snow, and to plant that special rare seed that the peddler gave me during the Flower Festival," I said, taking the snow flower seed out of my pocket and placing it on the table.
"You mean that flower that supposedly grows in winter?" Ellen asked me before taking a bite into one of her sandwiches.
I nodded. "Yep, that's correct."
"But, darling, do you really believe that flower can survive in the winter? I mean, I've never heard of such thing," Ellen said as she fed Pete some blended applesauce.
"I don't know what to believe anymore. Nina believes there is a flower that can survive in the winter season, so who am I to argue?" I said as I held the seed in my hand, looking at it glitter under the light provided by the light bulb of the ceiling fan, the thin wooden planks spinning rapidly, fanning cool air all over the room while the fireplace burned with fresh firewood.
"... During my experiences of being a rancher here, I have seen some things that I used to think were elements of fiction or mythology... The Harvest Sprites... The Harvest Goddess... The-" I was about to say more, but Ellen cut me off.
"Wait, hold on. Did you say Harvest Goddess? You mean to tell me you've actually met her? In person?" Ellen asked me.
"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but I've actually met her face to face," I said while looking into my wife's eyes while Pete chewed on his blue triangle shaped plastic teething ring.
"How?"
"Well, a couple days after we had that earthquake, Luke told me that a big unmovable boulder has fallen off a ledge in the forest leading to an uncharted area in the forest. I took my old ax and went there, and I saw these strange flowers there and a pond. I threw my ax in the pond, and that's how I met her. She asked me if the golden ax in her hands is the one I dropped in the pond. I said no, and she gave me the super ax because I was truthful. That's how it happened," I explained.
Ellen was silent for a few seconds.
"... Wow... Tony... You are something else, meeting the Harvest Sprites and the Harvest Goddess herself. What's next?" Ellen asked me.
I shook my head and bit into my sandwich.
"I don't know, Ellen... I don't know..." I said after swallowing, looking at the snow flower seed in deep thought.
Afterwards, after feeding my livestock, I showed Ellen and Pete to the place in the forest where I met the Harvest Goddess to prove to her that I wan't lying. Ellen looked down at the pond for a few seconds, studying her reflection, then she looked at me.
"I never said I didn't believe you, Tony, but this is amazing," she said, awestruck.
"The word 'amazing' doesn't even begin to describe it," I said, partially in surprise myself that I actually met the Harvest Goddess herself.
We visited Luke for a while then returned home.
Sunday, 30th Of Fall, 1977
Ellen woke up seconds faster than I did.
"Wow, honey, you sure are up in a rush. What's wrong?" I asked her, my voice still groggy.
"I want to go to church today. let's eat breakfast, and you feed your livestock so we can get there as soon as possible," Ellen said as she picked Pete up out of his bed.
"Okay, okay, let's get to it," I said, slowly climbing out of bed.
We showered, ate breakfast, I fed my livestock, including Koro and Zara, then me, Ellen and Pete left to the church in Neighbor Town. We sat in our usual place, and listened to priest Daniel about how little things can make a big difference. Hours later, we walked back home... Home sweet home.
Monday, 1st Of Winter, 1977
Morning. The first day of winter in my second year of working in my Grandpa's ranch. If there is such thing as life after death, I bet Grandpa is looking at me with a big smile. I bathed with Ellen and Pete, then we ate breakfast. After breakfast I went out to the firewood shed, grabbed four logs are firewood and brought them into the house. I opened the door, stepped inside and closed the door with my right boot. I passed by my wife as I headed towards the fireplace.
"So are you really going up there, Tony?" Ellen asked me while holding Pete in her arms as she watched me put seven logs of firewood into the fireplace, lighting a match and throwing it into the firewood.
I looked over at her. "Yeah, I am, after I'm done with feeding the livestock. I've been waiting for this moment ever since I bought this seed from the peddler," I said.
"Can I come with you? I want to see the flower too." Ellen said.
"... No, I think it's best if you stayed here, for Pete, I mean. the air outside might be a little too cold for him to handle yet. I don't want him to freeze to death. And I don't want you or our next baby to freeze either," I said.
"I can take care of myself, honey," Ellen said defiantly.
I couldn't believe she said that! Doesn't she see the big picture here? She cannot walk long periods when she is two or three weeks due to deliver our next baby!
"Honey, be reasonable!" I exclaimed. "Your stomach slowly grows bigger every day. Right now, you are in no shape to walk forty minutes without getting fatigued. Please, honey, I am not trying to confine you to our home, I am just looking out for your health and our children, as a good husband and father should."
Ellen looked sad, but she knew I had a good point.
"Okay, darling. Go on. Let me know how things turn out," she said as I walked towards the door and grabbed my winter coat off the coat rack next to the door.
"See you in a few," I said before disappearing outside and shutting the door.
Outside the house, the air is very cool especially when I breathed in the air, it sent chills in my nostrils. I walked across the snow covered grounds towards my tool shed to get the brush and milker then after getting the tools I need, I walked over to the cow barn and fed, pampered and milked Aloe, Star and Nova, and least of all scooped up and disposed of their poop, and cleaned the barn to get rid of the disgusting, pungent scent of their waste, then I went to the chicken barn and fed my chickens and put their eggs int the shipping box. I also had to clean their poop too, but thankfully chicken poop doesn't have a strong smell compared to cattle poop. After that, I put the milker and brush back in the tool shed then I left my ranch with only the snow flower seed in my pocket.
I walked down the right side of the snow covered road for the next forty minutes, passing by telephone pole after telephone pole on my side of the road. As I looked up at the bright gray sky, I thought about what to name my next child. I ran some ideas through my head, but nothing stuck like glue. Then I turned my head to the right and gazed out at the open field of snow covered ground, trying to relax my mind, because I thought that if I relax my mind instead of forcing it to come up with an idea, an idea might come to me in time. After forty minutes passed, I headed towards the forest at the area where I found that power berry hidden in that bird statue, and walked through the forest passing by Luke's home and the fishing pond, heading towards the foothills and traveled up the largest hill in the area, making my way to the peak. As soon as I got up there, my eyes were treated with the amazing view of snow covered trees stretching for miles, and the mountains far off in the distance made the scenery look more beautiful. I looked down at the patches of snow at the tip of the cliff's "nose", then I looked at the seed in my glove covered hand.
"I hope this works," I prayed aloud.
I crouched down on my knees and placed the seed into the snow and covered it into the snow, making a small snow mound over the seed. I stood up and waited for something to happen. After five seconds of standing still and waiting, nothing happened. I sighed in depression.
"Man... I guess the seed really isn't a real snow flower seed... Just an ordinary seed," I said sullenly.
Just then, when I was thinking about leaving, I saw blue sparks of light emanating from the little snow mound where I buried the snow flower seed! I gasped in shock as I witnessed the light blue orbs of light dance in circles above the little snow mound. The orbs continued dancing and rising inches and inches more above the mound, then they jumped back into it! Six seconds later, the flower slowly, yet somewhat quickly sprouted from the snow mound! It is the most beautiful flower I have ever seen in my life! It looked like a rose, only its petals are an extremely pretty shade of blue or cyan. I guess blue and cyan mixed together, I can barely tell. But who cares? I could barely believe what I just witnessed. I couldn't help but smile.
"Wow... Nina would love to see this," I said to myself and smiled.
Just then, something unexpected happened. A small woman the size of my thumb appeared out of thin air before my eyes! I flinched! I took a look at her for a second, rubbed my eyes, then took another look at her. She seemed to be hovering two feet above the flower. Wait. How is that possible? When I rubbed my eyes and took another look at the small woman-like creature, I noticed wings fluttering on her back. I didn't notice them at first because they are so clear they almost camouflage with the snowy environment. Then the realization hit me. She's no ordinary girl. She's a fairy! A real fairy! Wow...! She has clear with outlines that reflect light in rainbow colors which is how I was able to notice her wings, she also has short blue hair, she wore a blue and cyan sparkling dress that is the same colors as the flower, and she wore teal colored high heel shoes! She flew around me for a few second, probably sizing me up, then hovered in front of me, above the snow flower. Before I could say a word, she did.
"Thank you for letting it bloom. No one has ever planted it before," she said with a pleased smile.
"Oh, uh... You're welcome," was all I replied.
The fairy girl put her hands together and spun around in the air in pure joy.
"I'm so happy...!" She said while spinning around in the air in bliss, then she stopped to face me. "... I want to give something good to you," she said.
"Really? That sounds nice, but you don't really have..." Before I could finish that sentence, a Power Tree berry magically appeared in my hands!
"Wha?! What in the...?!" I was speechless! I looked at the fairy and smiled.
"Thank you very much."
"No, It is me who should thank you. Snow flowers are very rare these days. To see you plant it tells me you are a really good, honest person," the fairy said, smiling innocently.
"Thanks... So, uh, the flower... Uh... How long will it...?" I asked her.
She nodded slowly. She understood what I'm trying to ask.
"... Both the flower and I will be gone soon, but... I will always pray for you to be happy," she said.
I was in complete, utter awe. That's so sweet, I was nearly speechless.
"I... I can't find the right word to thank you..." I said, feeling touched by her generosity.
Then she hovered a few more feet into the air, I had to look up. Then she flashed a few times then disappeared. I sighed. Then I looked down at the snow flower. I can't believe it. Everybody I've met wants me to live a happy life... The people of Neighbor Town, Luke and his carpenters, my wife, the Harvest Sprites, the Harvest Goddess, and that little blue fairy... I have so many supporters, it makes me want to cry. I knelt down at the snow flower.
"Thank you... Thank you all..." I whispered.
I turned around and left the peak, eating the Power Tree berry. I returned back home and told Ellen the whole story. She was shocked beyond belief about the fairy part, but she's glad to know that the fairy is praying for me to have a happy life.
"... You know why all this is happening to you, darling?" Ellen asked me.
I shook my head as I drank my glass cup filled with iced tea.
"I don't know why, but I feel glad to have met so many people- so many people that make my life as a rancher fun and easy. I feel like... I feel like every single day I feel more luckier and happier. It's a feeling hard to put into words, you know?" I asked Ellen.
"I understand... Well, we got a long winter ahead of us. Let's enjoy it while we still can," Ellen said.
"Yep," I nodded.
Tuesday, 2nd Of Winter, 1977
I woke up around 7:15 and I saw Ellen picking up Pete out of his bed.
"Good morning, my handsome prince. And how are you today?" Ellen asked Pete sweetly as she gently placed him on the floor.
"Dah... Dah dah... Be-ba be..." Pete babbled, looking up at knelt down and kissed Pete's chubby cheeks, making him giggle.
"I see you two are having fun," I said as I approached, scratching my itchy scalp.
"Yep. Pete is feeling really good today. I'm thinking about going outside with him and show him the snow." Ellen looked up at me, then she stood up after replying to my question.
"I see. And how is our other baby?" I asked, looking down at her tummy.
I noticed that our next baby has grown up a lot, causing Ellen's belly to stretch out underneath her teal maternity dress. She almost looked like she ate a hundred rice balls.
"Yes, it sure is. Want to do the honors and name our next baby?" Ellen asked me as she rubbed her big belly.
"Sure. I don't mind," I said with a modest nod.
"Thank you, sweetie." Ellen came up to me, kissed me on my forehead, then walked to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast.
I watched Ellen leave, then I looked down at Pete crawling on the floor, then I picked him up.
"Pete, son, I want to give you some early romance advice. Always make sure your future wife is a good cook. Okay?"
"Dahhh!" Pete babbled, shaking his head happily and wildly.
A few minutes later, we ate breakfast then watched the weather news. I'll skip the boring parts. They say it'll continue snowing tomorrow, that simple.
"Hey, honey, ready to go out and show Pete the snow? I'll go get him ready," Ellen said.
"Sure. I'll go on ahead of you. I need to feed the livestock first," I said.
"Woof woof woof!" Koro barked at me.
"I'm sorry, Koro, but you can't come outside with us. You might freeze to death," I told Koro.
He whined, laying his body down on the wooden floor. So while Ellen was dressing Pete in his thermal pajamas and wrapped in extra blankets, I went out to feed the cows, chickens and Zara. Seconds after I was done, Ellen in her navy blue coat stepped outside, holding Pete who is wrapped in two different blankets and wearing small mittens.
"Wheee! Dahhh-beeee! Hee-hee-hee-hee!" Pete babbled and giggled excitedly at the sight of snowflakes falling down from the thick, beautiful bright gray clouds.
"What do you think, Petey? This is snow! Feels cool and wonderful out here, doesn't it?" I called to Pete as I approached them.
"Come on, darling. Let's walk around the ranch for a while," Ellen said.
So me and Ellen with Pete walked around the ranch. Pete LOVED the snow! he wouldn't stop giggling, laughing and squirming in Ellen's arms. I spread my arms, slowly spinning around as snowflakes softly hit my face.
"Look at that. Look at that. Isn't it beautiful, the way the snow field stretches out for miles away from the ranch, and the snowflakes falling from the gray sky?" I announced proudly.
I felt happy. More than happy; content is the correct word to use. I fell back and my back landed on the soft carpet of snow. *WHUMP!* The blanket of snow crunched as I fell back on it.
"Watch this, Pete. Watch your father make a snow angel," Ellen whispered to Pete as they watched me fan my arms and legs, making a snow angel.
Feeling the snowflakes fall on my face felt good. I mean, really good. I even opened my mouth to taste some of them. Afterwards, Ellen and Pete returned to the house to warm up, and I brought in more firewood from the wood shed to make sure the fire in the fireplace in the house doesn't die out. We spent most of the day in our house after going out for a while, but we came back out into the snow for about 19 minutes at 3:35 p.m.
Thursday, 4th Of Winter, 1977
We did the same thing today: ate breakfast, fed the livestock, had some fun out in the snow, although Ellen wouldn't let go of Pete; she's afraid that he might freeze very easily if he sets foot in the snow. Then we rested in the house for a few hours, huddled ear the fireplace to warm up, then we sat on the couch as we watched television for the rest of the day. Pete sat to my right on the couch, playing with his rattle stick and tiger stuffed animal, and Ellen was to my left. She was laying her head on my left shoulder while I was rubbing her somewhat solid, smooth bulging stomach. There's something beautiful about pregnant women that I don't know how to describe in words. It just feels great knowing that we have another baby coming up soon. Now Pete will have a sibling to play with.
Saturday, 6th Of Winter, 1977
After bathing, we ate breakfast as usual. i looked down at Koro as he chomped down on his bowl of kibbles then drunk from his water bowl. Then I looked at my plate of pancake sausage sandwich (two pancakes with sausage in between, and cut it in half with my fork and ate a piece.
"Honey, what do you plan on doing today since it is Saturday?" Ellen asked me.
"Well, I'm gonna go up to the mountain peak to see if the snow flower is still there. The fairy told me that it won't be around long, and I'm concerned," I replied before eating another piece of pancake and sausage.
"If you're that concerned about it, why don't you go up there and find out? I'll make some special rice balls for you while you're gone." Ellen said, looking straight in my face.
"Thanks, darling," I gave her a kiss on the cheeks.
After me and Ellen were done eating, I had to use the toilet first before going outside while Ellen fed Pete some applesauce. I went out and fed the livestock, and not to mention Zara, then I left the ranch. I walked down the cold, snowy road with my hands in my pockets. I looked around at the beautiful white scenery around me- snow covered the entire environment around me- the white powdery elements stuck to the trees, bushes, and even the road, although there were wheel tracks of trucks and cars passing through recently. I took the detour to the forest once I reached the part of the road where I smashed the bird statue to find the Power Berry.
When I reached the mountain's peak, I expected to see the snow flower at the edge of the cliff... But...
"Wha...? Oh..." I groaned in depression.
I saw that the snow flower is in fact gone. I thought the snow flower would last through the entire winter! I walked over to the spot where I planted it.
"I don't get it." I muttered to myself. "How could a flower wilt when it is meant to survive in winter?" I asked myself.
I sat down in depression. I remembered exactly what the little fairy girl told me. She said the flower will be gone soon, but she never said why.
"Hm..." I scratched my chin in thought.
Maybe... Maybe she took the flower with her so that she can use it to make more snow flower seeds. After all, the snow flower is known as the most endangered flower in the world... My eyes brightened with an awesome solution!
"Of course! Of course!" I said to myself with a growing smile.
The fairy was actually happy that I planted the snow flower seed because its the last of its kind! And since it is the last of its kind, she took the flower in secret so that she can somehow produce more snow flower seeds and... one day... snow flowers won't be on the list of endangered species of flowers anymore! Coming up with that conclusion made me feel so much better! I walked back home feeling more happy and chipper than ever. That explains why the fairy was so happy- not just because I planted an endangered flower, but because I saved the snow flowers from becoming completely extinct! I feel like a hero now! I saved a specie of nearly extinct flowers! Nina will be so proud of me!
Sunday, 7th Of Winter, 1977
Sometime after we ate breakfast and I fed my cows and chickens and Zara, and repairing the broken fences from the harsh snowstorm, Ellen, Pete and I were watching the snow from the window, sitting on the dinner chairs we brought over from the kitchen. Koro was sitting next to me, wagging his stubby little tail.
"Watching trillions and trillions of snowflakes fall from the sky is a beautiful thing, isn't it, honey?" I asked Ellen, looking at her then at Pete sitting on her right leg's thigh.
She shook her head, looking out at the heavy fall of snow on the other side of the window.
"I don't know. It's kind of disappointing when the weather is not good on Sunday," she said.
"What makes it so depressing?" I asked Ellen.
She didn't reply. She said nothing at all, just staring out the window in a mildly forlorn manner. When I looked down at Pete, he turned his head to the left and looked at Ellen's swollen belly in curiosity. I guess he noticed the bulge from the corner of his left eye. Anyway, he began touching and rubbing his mother's stomach out of curiosity, and Ellen didn't seem to notice. I then had a hunch of why Ellen finds winter so disappointing.
"Are you... worried about P-Chan?" I asked her.
Ellen slowly nodded a couple times. "You know that there are no insects to be found in the winter. I wonder if she is doing okay, hibernating somewhere far away? She is a domesticated bird, you know. Does she even know how to survive the winter?" she said, almost in a depressed, listless manner.
I reached over to her and softly patted her on the back.
"Hey, don't worry, honey. You'll see P-Chan again. My instincts tells me you will. Remember what I said when I found P-Chan? I said that P-Chan wants to be free, but that doesn't mean she hates you," I reminded Ellen with sympathy.
Ellen looked at me and forced a smile. "You're right. I believe she will come see us sometime next year, or the year after. I'm not losing hope. Thank you, darling. You bring sunshine into my rainy day when I need it."
She leaned towards me and kissed me for 8 seconds in the lips. After that I felt like my brain short circuited for a few seconds, but rebooted. This day has been a boring one at most, but not before Ellen and I fell asleep in our bed- she gave me loads of more kisses, and I gave them back in return, obviously.
Monday, 8th Of Winter, 1977
After eating breakfast...
"Well honey, now that it stopped snowing today, what do you plan on doing today?" Ellen asked me.
"After I'm done with my daily chores, I'm going to go to Neighbor Town and see Daniel and Maria's parents. What about you?" I replied.
"I'm going to town to visit my parents and Ann," Ellen replied.
"I see," I said as I sat on the couch and put on my boots.
"By the way, honey, you and Ann go a few years back, right?" I asked her.
"Yeah, we have been close friends since high school," Ellen nodded as she fed Pete a small spoonful of blended bananas.
"How old is Ann? I mean, if she is the same age as me, she's a little to short to be 22," I said.
"Well, believe it or not, Ann just turned 20. Height usually isn't a factor in age," Ellen told me.
"...Oh." I felt confused and amused at the fact that Ann is 17 despite her short height.
Anyway, when we were ready, I called Derek by phone and asked him to give us a right to town. As soon as we reached town with Derek's help, we went our separate ways. Ellen headed to the southern part of town while I went to the upper part.
"I'll see you later, darling," Ellen said to me before leaving.
"Okay, honey," I replied.
I headed on over to the church, saying hello to Nina and a few other people I've never been acquainted with.
Soon I found myself in front of the church, and Maria, sweeping the snow off the road.
"Good morning, Maria," I greeted her.
"Good morning, Tony. I heard that you and Ellen have another child coming. Are you happy?" Maria asked me with a modest smile.
"Happy? You bet!" I nodded enthusiastically.
"That's good. Children bring parents a lot of heavy responsibilities, but with those responsibilities comes happiness, believe it or not," Maria told me.
"Having Pete around sure made my life more heavy with responsibilities, but I can manage," I admitted.
Maria smiled with approval. "Is priest Daniel here? I just want to talk to him for a minute."
"He's inside the church, as usual, reading the bible, maybe," Maria said.
I nodded then walked towards the big wooden doors, pushing them open. Then I walked down the red carpet, passing row after row of seats.
"Priest Daniel, good morning." I called.
Daniel looked up from reading the book He smiled as soon as he saw me approaching.
"Tony! Mr. Tony! How nice to see you!" He shook my hand. "What brings you here this morning?"
"Me and my wife and son are in town. We're just visiting everybody, saying hello, and such," I replied.
"Yes, yes. And I heard that she's pregnant with another child, am I correct?" Daniel asked me, rubbing his long, pickle shaped chin.
"Yes, that's true... Ellen and I weren't exactly planning on having another baby, I mean, everything happened so fast after we danced at the Harvest Festival. It feels like I woke up from amnesia trying to remember an event I forgot about."
"Hmm... That's a sign of deep love there," Daniel commented.
"Huh?" I looked at him, confused.
"Usually a couple who deeply love each other end up having more than one baby whether they plan on it or not. Love is a mysterious and powerful emotion that drives you to do things with your spouse when you aren't even aware of it."
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked him.
Daniel quickly shook his head. "No! no-no-no, it's not. It's wonderful to be with someone you care about. The most important thing in life is probably having someone you love beside you. Someone who you can reveal your troubles to, someone who can comfort you when you're feeling depressed. Understand, Tony?"
"...Yeah. more than you think," I said, thinking back to the time I helped Ellen find P-Chan.
I helped her in her time of crisis. That's why she kissed me for the first time back then.
"... Well, nice talking to you, Daniel. I'll maybe see you next Sunday," I shook his hands.
"I look forward to it," Daniel smiled a warm smile.
Then I left and headed on over to the mayor's house.
I knocked on the door. Stan's wife answered the door.
"Oh! Tony! What a pleasant surprise! Come in!" She said in obvious surprise.
"Hello, ma'am. My wife and I were in town, so we're just saying hi to everyone before we head back to the ranch. Where's Stan?" I asked her as we made our way into the living room and took a seat on the living room couch.
"He is out of town for a while, meeting with Mayor Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town," she replied.
"Oh... i don't think I told you this before, but my parents own a ranch at Mineral Town," I added.
"Is that so? So... How's your work at the ranch?" She asked me.
"Great. More than great, actually. I've been receiving a lot of support from various characters, upgrading my tools, heeling make my work easier, stuff like that... I don't know what I did to deserve all this..." I told her.
"That's probably because you're a very good, truthful person. Have you ever done any bad deeds before, Tony?"
"Besides taking cookies out of the cookie jar without my Mom's permission, no. Why? Are you saying its a good to do a bad deed without getting caught?" I replied.
Stan's wife shook her head then she pushed some strings of her blue hair behind her left ear.
"Don't think it's okay to do a bad thing if it's not discovered. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. That's the way we are. But it's wrong not to feel guilty about what you've done wrong," she lectured me.
I gave her words some thought.
"So, when you say everyone makes mistakes, are you implying that we should learn from our mistakes so that we don't keep doing the bad deed over and over?" I asked her.
"Exactly," she nodded. "Mistakes hurt, but they give us an opportunity to improve ourselves. If we don't pay attention and take that opportunity, we'll never change," Stan's wife added.
"Hmm..." I scratched my chin.
"Was my lecture too difficult for you to understand?" Stan's wife asked me with a modest, friendly smile.
"... No, I get it, it's just that, this is a heavy lesson to learn..."
"I see."
"Well, I better get going. Ellen and Pete are probably waiting for me at the bridge. Nice talking to you, miss." I shook her hand. "nice talking to you too, Tony. You're a very humble person. i like that. I hope you raise Pete to be the same way." Stan's wife said as she waved bye. "I promise you I will." I said before shutting the door. I met back up with Ellen and Pete and we walked back to the ranch. It was an hour long walk so, we were a little tired, except Pete- he was being carried by Ellen the whole time, but he was sleepy still. After tucking him in bed, Ellen joined me in bed and got some shuteye.
Wednesday, 10th Of Winter
Its snowing again today and it is the day of the Thanksgiving Festival. After feeding my livestock and fixing all the broken fences in the harsh snowstorm, Ellen had a vegetable pie eating for me to eat as her Thanksgiving meal to me and as a reward for being such a hardworking husband and father. If I've said this once, I'll say it again: I'm glad that I married a nice, beautiful girl like Ellen.
Friday, 12th Of Winter
Big news today! Pete is now old enough to start walking! Oh, man oh man, this is great! Ellen and I were so overjoyed by this, after we ate breakfast, we spent half of the morning training Pete to walk to us whenever we call his name. He can walk pretty good!
"Wow! Pete is walking! I can hardly believe it!" I exclaimed.
"Yep. And... I have some new clothes for him to wear.
Ellen put Pete's new outfit on him before taking off the one he is already wearing. When Ellen was done clothing Pete, I took a look at him. It looked like he is dressed to be like a cow calf, especially with the hood over his head with the short ears which makes him look more like what he's wearing is a cow calf costume.
The only thing that isn't covered is his face.
"Not bad... I like it!" I gave Ellen two thumbs up.
"I think it looks cute on him," Ellen embraced me affectionately as we watched Pete aimlessly walk around going: "Da-da... Boo-boo... Ma-ma..."
It was so cute, I could watch it all day... But I got a job to do- I went out the farmhouse to go feed my livestock and Zara, then I came back in the house to play with Ellen and Pete. We had a fun time today. Ellen and I also used Pete's stuffed animals to pretend like they are actually talking to and interacting with Pete. One of the things I love about babies is that they are easily amused.
Sunday, 14th Of Winter
Not too much happened today. After taking care of my animals, Ellen, Pete and I headed to town to go to church, like I promised Daniel recently. Besides, its boring to be cooped up in the ranch all winter, even if the ranch is an hour walk away from Neighbor Town.
Tuesday, 16th Of Winter
At 11:15, I was sitting on a chair, looking out at the snow on the other side of the window, looking at the snow in deep thought. Ellen came up to me and knelt down to my sitting level.
"What's on your mind, darling?" She asked me.
I sighed, not even turning my head to look at her.
"I'm thinking about next year...The year when my parents come by and visit," I said.
"You must be looking forward to it, aren't you?" Ellen asked me.
I could hear the hint of excitement in her- she's looking forward to meeting my parents.
"Well... Yes and no." I slowly replied in a sullen manner.
Ellen frowned in confusion. "Why?"
"Well... Let's just say that my Dad is sometimes so strict, it can be a bit difficult to please him," I replied with a heavy sigh.
"Tell me about your mom and dad, Tony. What are they like?"
"Who do you want me to start out describing?" I asked.
Ellen shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me," she said.
"... I'll start out with my Dad. Well, my Dad is a hard worker. You can see it in him as soon as you meet him. He's tall, stocky, neatly trimmed mustache and hair... All in all, a decent guy. My Mom... She's like you in many ways: always happy to cook. She's shorter than my Dad, around about my height. I remember when I was younger, she used to cook rice balls made out of pure Starshine rice... Ooh, man... Those were the days..." I said dreamily.
"You know, darling... To honor your parents coming here next year after the summer, I'll cook rice balls for you every evening. Deal?"
"Deal, honey," I nodded, finally looking her in the face.
I gave her a smooch on the nose.
Thursday, 18th Of Winter
I woke up to see Ellen sitting on a chair facing the window knitting on something. And, she cut her hair back short again. Aww, and I was starting to like her with long hair... Oh well. I got up out of the bed to see what she is doing. Pete was nearby, playing with his toys and wearing his other outfit.
"Honey, what are you doing, sewing something?" I asked her as I slowly approached.
As I tried to peek over her shoulder, she turned around and faced me, then got up out of the chair.
"Hey, I made this overall for Pete. isn't it cute?" Ellen asked me as she flashed her work in my face.
I looked at the overall. It's cute, and a perfect fit for Pete! I can't wait to see him wear it next spring! If Ellen can find a cap, Pete will look just like me! A smile grew on my face the more I examined the overall in my hands.
"Wow... It looks so cute!" I exclaimed in surprise. "how long have you been working on this?" "About 3 1/2 hours. I woke up early because I had an inspiration. I figured that in the spring, I want Pete to wear overalls just like you. *sigh*... I hope spring comes soon." Ellen sighed, rubbing her big belly containing our other baby.
"Now that you mention it, I'm more enthusiastic for spring myself, I can't wait to see Pete wear this," I said, looking down at Pete who is playing with his toys and babbling baby talk.
He is growing up so fast...
"Pete grows pretty quickly. Just a little bit but he started to speak words," Ellen said.
"Really? What did he say?" I asked tried to remember what he tried to say, even though it only happened not too many minutes ago, while I was still asleep.
"... I think he tried to say 'Mama, I want oatweel' or something like that," Ellen said.
I frowned. "Oatweel? Did he mean oatmeal?" I asked her.
"Oatmeal... Yes! That's what he said! Oh no! I gotta cook breakfast! See you two in the kitchen, darling!" Ellen moved as quickly as she could to the kitchen.
I looked down at Pete and knelt down at him.
"So tell me, what are you doing?" I'm testing him to see if he can speak in full sentences.
"I... I'm pwaying..." Pete slowly managed to say. My eyes widened in shock. Afterwards, after eating breakfast, I watched the weather news and learned that there will be a rough snowstorm tomorrow. Then I went out fed my cows, chickens and Zara, then I went to the wood shed to get more wood for the fireplace in the house.
Saturday, 20th Of Winter, 1977
Today and tomorrow, it will still snow. So that means not only do I have to feed the livestock, but I have to repair the fences both today and tomorrow! What a winter! But the good news is, after I was done with the fence repairing, Ellen and Pete came outside in their warm clothes to have a little snowball fight. Pete tried to join in but he is terrible at throwing snowballs! Neither me or Ellen tried to hit him with a snowball, we tried to hit each other with them. I ended up getting hit 7 times and Ellen got hit 10 times, so that means I win the snowball fight this year! Sorry, sweetheart, but payback is on my side now!
Monday, 22nd Of Winter, 1977
Ellen and I woke up at the same time, and we both noticed that her stomach is now big and round as a watermelon once again. The baby is now big enough to give Ellen's body a little discomfort in supporting it's slowly increasing body weight.
"... This isn't your favorite part during pregnancy, isn't it?" I asked Ellen.
She shook her head. "This part of being pregnant is terrible. The only part I like is feeling the baby kick, but it hasn't done that yet." Ellen slowly climbed out of bed, struggling a little bit with the heavy load in her womb and I followed her into the bathroom as I took Pete with me so we can all take a bath.
When we came back out and got dressed, Ellen finally started feeling the baby kicking.
"Tony, Pete, the baby is kicking!" Ellen called us as we entered the living room.
"Wha...?" Pete looked confused. I was holding him.
"Your mom feels your brother or sister kicking." I told him.
"... Oh," Pete nodded.
Pete and I watched a sci-fi television show called Deep Space Raiders while Ellen cooked breakfast. We had omelettes, toast and bacon. Pete had peach oatmeal. Oh, I forgot to mention that Pete has grown his first tooth.
After eating I walked out into the cold snowy weather to get what I need to take care of my cows and milk them, then I gave the milk jugs to Ellen so she can cook cake. i also gave her all the chicken eggs, too. Then I went and fixed the broken fences.
"Whew... This is too cool for my taste," I said to myself, wiping my forehead after hammering down the 4th broken fence post then anchored down the new ones in place and toed the barbed wires to them, connecting them with all the other unbroken fences.
I like working in the snow more than the rain, but I'm starting to miss working in the rain. At least your hands and feet don't grow numb! I thought my fingers froze and broken off- I can't feel them anymore! But I still kept on working.
After I was done, I came back into the farmhouse and rested near the fireplace. Pete and Ellen came to join me. Pete sat down on my lap and said: "Da-da!" Ellen sat down next to me to my right, adjusting herself so that she can get into a comfortable position.
"Feeling okay, darling?" Ellen asked me, rubbing her belly as the new baby inside her continued moving and kicking.
I nodded. "Yeah... I almost froze to death out there, but I'm fine. I just want to set a good example to Pete. I don't want to appear lazy in front of him. He really looks up to me," I said, softly pinching his cheeks.
Ellen softly pinched my own cheeks.
"Tony, darling, you are not lazy. You are a great hardworking father and husband. I mean that," she said to me, her voice so soft, it felt like music to my ears.
"Thank you, honey. I'm not trying to prove that I'm not lazy, I just want to support my family as best as I can, and I want Pete to follow my example," I said as I reached over and touched Ellen's belly, and as soon as I did, I felt a lump from the baby's kick softly push the palm of my hand, just like the previous times.
"Darling, you do everything you can do, that's all there is to it. I'm satisfied with every little thing you do for us. Just don't risk your health, okay, honey?"
"Okay, sweetie," I replied.
We locked lips and started kissing.
"Ewww!" Pete cried in disgust, covering his eyes. I looked down at Pete.
"Hey! One day you'll be doing this too!" I said.
Ellen giggled. I am right, though.
"No!" Pete protested, still covering his eyes.
Tuesday, 23rd Of Winter, 1977
Ellen and I remembered that tomorrow is the Star Night Festival, thanks to the event news. Before I could go feed my livestock, as usual, Mike came by to visit.
"Yo, Tony!" Mike greeted me.
"Mikey! What's new?" I shook his hand.
"A lot of things. Three seasons from now, and I won't be a trainee shipper anymore. I'll be a professional shipper!" Mike said proudly.
"That's awesome! I feel happy for you! Really, I do!" I smiled.
"Thanks! Anyways, the Star Festival is tomorrow. Where are you gonna go? I'll be at the bar with Derek," Mike told me.
"I'll be at the town square with my wife," I replied.
"Oh! Speaking of Ellen, how is she doing with your other baby?" Mike asked me.
"She's doing fine. The baby is moving and kicking. A few days from now, probably sometime next spring, it'll be born," I said.
"That's great! You'll have two kids! I'm happy for you! Well, see ya around!" Mike turned and left.
"Take care of yourself, Mikey!" I called.
Then when he left using his pickup truck, I focused my attention back to my daily work, feeding, brushing, chatting and milking Aloe, Star and Nova, feeding my chickens and giving their eggs to Ellen so she can make cakes, and feeding Zara, my horse. Then I took my axe and wheelbarrow to go cut some wood in the forest. I returned back to the ranch at 3:00. I spent all noon and evening playing with Ellen and Pete.
Wednesday, 24th Of Winter, 1977
It is night, 7:00 p.m. at the Neighbor Town square. The only people here besides me is Ellen's mom, Mayor Stan and his wife, and my wife Ellen, and my son Pete. Ellen and I were standing next to each other, looking up at the stars, shining in the big black void above.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Ellen asked me in awe.
"Yeah... I never do much stargazing, but I have to admit that they do look beautiful..."
I looked at Ellen after saying that.
"... And so do you," I added.
Ellen smiled at me. I don't know what made me say that, but I thought that it would be a good time to give Ellen a compliment. I knew it would work. We continued looking up at the stars, including Pete.
"Oooh, wow!" Pete exclaimed, pointing up at the sky.
We never let him see the night sky because we put him to bat at this time, but today is special.
"Hey, Tony," Ellen said to me.
"Yeah?" I answered back.
"Stan's wife told me several minutes ago that she has this feeling that somewhere among the stars, there's all kinds of life out there," Ellen replied.
I looked at her.
"You mean living creatures that look like us or look like some animals and such?" I asked her.
"Yeah, something like that," Ellen replied as she handed Pete to me to hold, because of how difficult it is to hold Pete and hold the weight of the baby in her stomach at the same time.
"I... never thought of that before... But the whole concept of it sounds very interesting," I said with minor enthusiasm at the thought.
"She said that every time she looks up at the stars, she gets the feeling that there is so much more to life than we already know about," Ellen told me.
"Well, I think she is right."
"What makes you think so?" Ellen asked me.
I looked into her eyes. "Um... because when I look at you, I see that there is much more to you than a pretty face and personality. I don't know how to describe it in words, but it is just as beautiful as the stars," I said to her.
Ellen looked so deeply touched by my words.
"Ohhh, Tony..." She embraced me.
We held each other close as I held Pete with my left arm, and we all looked up at the sky, watching shooting stars shoot by in all kinds of colors- red, blue, green, etc. This is the greatest Star Night festival I've ever been in! When Ellen. Pete and I got back home, we fell asleep as soon as we laid in our beds.
"I really love you, Tony," Ellen whispered to me before closing her eyes.
"I love you too, honey," I said.
I embraced her as I fell asleep, feeling her swollen stomach pushing up against my flat belly. It wasn't very comfortable, since it feels a little solid, but I didn't care.