I've always have loved Harvest Moon games. Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade have always held a special place in my heart, one I've never really moved past with future HM/Story of the Seasons games. Now I'm going to finally try writing a story about them in small simple increments and see what happens.

Chapter 1

My favorite place to sit during long road trips had always been the back of the bus. The extra room, the fact that no one would be there to bother you from behind with a spitball or question why you were dressed differently than everyone else was a relief that I wouldn't even begin to describe. There were no masks to take off or appearances to hold up. It was a choice that awarded you the most peace and quiet that was obvious to even the densest of individuals. Even after I had graduated school eight years ago and no longer took the bus, I still sat at the back of the bus and this cross-country trip was no exception. I had been buried in a hoodie towards the back of the bus, knees folded to my chest with my earbuds shoved into my ears, listening to music while I played Woodblocks on my phone. I had to be one of the last people in the world that still had a functioning iPod. Endless loops of the same songs with different covers played in my head, distracting me from how long the trip had actually been. A classical piece of music switched on in the shuffle before I quickly skipped it in favor of an energetic anime OP, but not before I felt a brief flash of anxiety. I took a breath while trying not to inhale too much of the bus's strong smell of carpet cleaner and humid metal, focusing instead on the twenty-eight rivets in the ceiling.

"End of the line, sweetheart." I blinked a moment, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. I took out one of my earbuds and looked up towards the front of the bus. The only reason I knew he was talking to me was because I was the only person onboard and that the bus had stopped. I assumed we had halted at a stop sign at a crossroads, something that was pretty common on country roads, but the subtle change in the buzzing sensation I'd felt through the seats for the last shifted, like it had been put into the park. Vehicles always felt slightly different when they were parked, almost like the engine was letting out a sigh. It had been pretty relaxing for the most part, like sitting in a massage chair. It reminded me of the vibrating sensory toys I had as a kid to help with my autism.

"You're on your own from here," the bus driver announced again, my headphones now off. Quickly, I began spooling my headphones and shoved them into my jean jacket pocket before grabbing onto the four Vera Bradley suitcases stuffed to the brim like fat ticks ready to pop. Awkwardly, I made my and right as I'm about to descend the stairs I see nothing but a knocked over bus stop sign and an out of place bench with paint peeling off in flecks. I have only a single thought inside my head. 'This can't be the right place.' It couldn't be. I knew the place I was going was a small town, but it couldn't have been this small.

"Is this Castanet? I was promised to be dropped off in Castanet."

"You were. You're at the city limits." The bus driver gestured to the knocked over sign covered with rust a mile marker down from the bus stop. I couldn't even make out the writing, the paint was so bad. Then again, maybe it was my glasses. "Besides, these old roads are too bad for public transportation. You'd have better luck walking than trying to drive out here. It's only a five-mile hike."

"Five miles!? You can't be serious." My expectations for the day had now gone from bad to worse. I stomped my foot, indignant at the unreasonable bus driver. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"

"I dunno, maybe a nice farmer will let you bum a ride off of his tractor or somethin'. It's not my problem."

Angrily, I grabbed my bags and stumble awkwardly down the steps. I barely had a moment to step out of the road before the bus engine revved and started, spitting fumes and dust behind as it takes a crossroads and begins travelling north. "Thanks for nothing..." i grumbled once he had pulled away. It was still morning, so it wasn't unbearable, but there was a bit of a chill in the air. Winter had only just recently disappeared from the land, and while there, the ground was still soft from spring showers.

I looked back down at the brochure again and the little map on the back I had stuffed in my red, pullover hoodie. 'Wonderful Ranch Brochure: A wonderful life in wonderful Castanet where fun and adventure awaits for you... Come and experience a true rancher's paradise.' I was being paid to move out here. Apparently the sum of 5000G would be my downpayment along with free room and board at one of the local ranch properties. The only catch was that I had to stay an entire year. If I decided to stay indefinitely, it would become an annual thing. I'd also get a 2000G referral if I managed to get someone else to move here by my request. At the time, it seemed like a pretty sweet deal. Move out into the middle of nowhere for a little while, recuperate, and then when I was ready and had enough money saved, move back home to Railroad City, and start over.

However, if the lack of cars and road conditions were any indication to how difficult life was going to be, I was already starting to regret my choice. I sat on the bus bench, four large bags strapped to me like a mule before I started making my way down the dirt road. I was barely a quarter of a mile away from the bus stop when I began to feel my whole body drenched in sweat. I already had to put down my bags several times, switching hands in order to lighten the load somewhat, but the bus stop was still within eyeshot of me.

I bolted at the sound of wasp wings, raising my bags up again. What if it took me all day to get there? What if I needed to use the bathroom? What if I stumbled into the grass to do my business and a snake bit me or I stepped in poison ivy and broke out into hives? Did the small town drugstore even sell Benadryl?

My thoughts grounded to halt when I stumble on a pothole dug into the gravel road. The momentum of my four bags brought my forward as I twisted my body expertly away from the rock towards the soft cushion of the long grass and despite the long leggings covering my legs, my knees felt the brunt of the fall. Pain lanced through my right ankle as the left one quickly joined it, both having awkwardly tilted to the side in an awkward angle. Not even close to civilization yet, and I had already sprained both of my ankles.

Stupid bus stop. Stupid driver. Stupid broken country roads.

"Need a lift?" I tilted my head to look up and saw a middle aged man sitting in the driver's seat of a horse-drawn hay wagon. They had snuck up on me while I had been listening to my music and now had pulled to the side of the road. Taking this into consideration, I quickly snapped my mask back on and gave him a bright smile.

"Hi, yes, umm… I'm looking for Castanet. Is that anywhere around here?"

"You're lookin' at it," he grinned, reaching out a hand that showed a very strong forearm that was barely contained in his button up green shirt. "You must be the new resident."

"Yes, hi. I'm Harper. Harper Hale."

"That's right! You're Angie's girl. I don't know if you remember me, but I grew up with your mother. I'm Cain. You and your sister Molly used to come over and pet the horses."

I gave him a more genuine smile. I couldn't recall his name, but the horses I remembered. "That's right. I remember my mom talking about Gould. Do you still have her?"

"Nah, Gould passed away ages ago."

"Oh… What about Tanner and JC?"

"Sold 'em. JC is currently traveling around with Theodore's Circus, and Tanner had bad feet, so I couldn't take care of him anymore so he's out to pasture with my cousin out on the Gull Islands.

"What about Ginger?"

"She's pulling the cart," I looked over his shoulder and sure enough, the chestnut quarter horse was tugging away. "Yeah, she's getting' on in her age, though I still have her colt, Ronyboy, if you're interested."

"Oh… well, I don't know about that-"

"Just a thought. But listen to me going on about selling you a horse. You'll probably want to settle in first." There was a brief moment of silence between us as we moved past a newly tilled field, finally out of sight of the broken-down bus stop. "Anyways, we're glad to have you here. It's always nice to see to a new face, even if it's one we technically have seen before. Renee will be so excited to see you

"Uh-huh..." I said absentmindedly, completing another nine tiles in the game. I tried listening to Cain talk to himself, but I stopped paying attention long after he started going into long winded explanations about the town and the people in it. At some point Cain must had gotten the message because we didn't talk for the rest of the ride.