Chapter 15: Black Beginning

"What's that, Pete?" Claire turned around to face his field. The small journal caught her attention. That looks like an old book. Its cover was tattered.

"Oh, this?" Pete waved the book at her. "It's the old man's journal. It's a record of everything he's done on the farm. It could prove useful."

"That's convenient." Claire tilted her head. Did he find that in the house? "Wait, is that how you knew about the General Store?"

"Bingo." Pete grinned. "He mentioned that the store would sell seeds. He'd always make weekly trips to buy them."

Claire hummed in response. Maybe that journal could serve as their guidebook. Any advice on cutting stumps, perhaps?

"Okay…" After reading a few pages, Pete put the book away. He raised his hoe. Let's get to tilling!

ATCH!

Pete tilled three squares in succession. Okay, that's not bad. He was getting the hang of it. Five more squares were tilled, forming a 3 by 3 square plot of land, except it lacked a single square below the center.

"Huh…" Claire folded her arms, her eyes glued to the untilled spot. That's almost a perfect square. "Why are you leaving that land untouched?"

"Just following the old man's notes," Pete replied. "Why?"

"Why not till it?" Claire asked. "It doesn't seem… complete, you know?" Like an itch waiting to be scratched!

"We might not be able to tend to the plant in the center, though." Pete stuck his hoe down. "When the seeds grow up, they–…"

"Why couldn't we?" Claire rubbed her chin. "I don't see an issue with that."

"Huh…" Pete stared at the untilled land. "But…"

"Can't we just walk over the plants?" Claire raised a finger. "As long as we don't trample them, of course."

Pete stroked his cheek in deep thought. She makes a fair point. Why should he leave the land untilled? Why not make a perfect 3 by 3 square plot of land? They could easily navigate around the plants. The more he thought about it, the more he realized Claire was making more sense.

"You're… right." Pete raised the hoe and tilled the land. "I guess it was the old man's way of doing things."

"We're still at our prime!" Claire placed a hand on her other arm and flexed.

Pete chuckled. "I suppose we are."

And now, they had a square field with 9 individual plots ready for planting. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Pete took out a seed packet. Both the packet and the vegetable picture on it were white. There was a short caption that read: a spring crop that's easy to grow.

"Turnips." Pete hummed to himself. "The old man mentioned this was his first plant."

"Oooh, turnips." Claire inspected the packet. "How do we plant it?"

"Supposedly, each packet contains… 36 seeds." Pete directed his gaze to the tilled soil and made a mental calculation. So that would mean…

"4 seeds per plot?" Claire guessed.

"Right." Pete untied the packet. He scattered 4 seeds over each of the 9 plots. That's easy enough. He then took out a small watering can. "Next up would be to…"

"Water the fields!" Claire pumped her fists.

"Right again." Pete walked to a nearby pond and filled the watering can with water. He stood in front of the fields and began watering the plots one by one. "And done!"

"That was easier than I thought," Claire said, folding her arms. "What else do we have to do? Do we just leave the fields now?"

"We'll have to water them every day until they grow." He put his tools away. "That's pretty much it."

"Cool!" She jumped up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Can I try making my own fields?"

"Go for it." He smiled and tossed her another turnip seed packet. She's awfully excited. He sat on the shipment bin.

"Okay!" She rolled up her sleeves and equipped her hoe. Time to get tilling!

Claire replicated Pete's actions. She tilled another 3 by 3 square plots near his field. Now for the seeds! She opened the seed packet, stood in the center, and dramatically twirled around to scatter the seeds, filling her entire plot evenly. And done!

Did she just plant all the seeds in one go? Her twirling spectacle rendered Pete speechless. She just flung those seeds in the air!

Next, Claire took out her watering can. It looked more modern than the existing watering can but held the same capacity. She filled it with water from the pond, then began watering the fields.

"It only just occurred to me now but…" Pete crossed one leg over the other. "Do you have your own farming tools from the city?"

"Yeah! I bought them before coming here. I made an educated guess based on the ad." Claire answered as she watered the fields. "Wanted to be prepared, you know?"

"Well, that's nice." Pete nodded. Quite convenient we have two of each tool. They could divide their work better that way. Comes in handy.

"And I'm done!" Claire set the watering can away and turned to him. "What do you think, Pete?" She gave him a thumbs up.

"That's great, Claire." Pete grinned and clapped his hands. "We now have two fields of turnips ready."

"Yeah!" Claire pumped her fists up. "I can't wait for them to grow."

Pete calmly watched her. She looks like she's having fun. Her expression wasn't what he'd call bored. Due to the farm's condition, he thought Claire wouldn't enjoy this seemingly mundane activity. She also came from the city. Adjusting to a farm life might take time. But she looks like she's fitting in well. Maybe I'm misunderstanding her…

"You know, Claire…" Pete stood up. "I thought you'd find this boring."

"Boring?" Claire raised a brow. "Why do you say so?"

"Well, you did say you expected a gorgeous farm." Pete stroked his chin. "And the farm we got is… less than desirable. Maybe it would have discouraged you…?"

"Oh, that." Claire scratched her cheek. "I won't lie that it was a big letdown… but that strangely motivates me."

"Huh, it motivates you?"

"When I think about what we're able to do in a day… imagine what we'll be able to achieve in a year." Claire clenched her fists and raised them. "Today, we already planted turnip seeds! Isn't that amazing?"

"… Yeah." Pete found himself captivated by her tone of words. She found joy in something as small as planting seeds. The first activity they engaged in. It was oddly… adorable.

"Sure, we might have to work on the farm from the ground up and it's tiring…" Claire raised her head high, gazing at the calm blue skies. "But once we raise it into a beautiful farm, it'll be all worthwhile."

She's rather optimistic. Pete could see the hope shining in her blue eyes. A hope that sparked the doubts away in his chest.

"Is this the excitement you were looking for, then?" Pete followed her gaze to the skies.

"I wouldn't trade it for the city." Claire smiled brightly. It might only be her first day, but she was already having tons of fun. This is where she belonged. "Never looking back and never will."

"… Mhmm." Pete sighed softly. Is that right…? "Thank you, Claire."

"T-Thank you?" Her eyes widened in response. "Thanks for what?"

"I was… feeling doubtful of myself." Pete crossed his arms. "I didn't know if I had it in me to care for the farm as my old man. I don't know if I… deserved to take his place."

"Pete…" Claire noticed the same sullen expression from before was appearing on his face. A face that didn't suit him. Of course you deserve it…

"And I'll be honest." Pete smiled wryly. "I had second thoughts about sharing the farm with a total stranger from the city. I wondered if it was even the right decision."

"I can't blame you for that." She cast her eyes to the fields. It was a tough circumstance. What would happen if Pete chose otherwise? I don't want to know…

"But listening to you, Claire… there's one thing I understand." He turned to her.

"What's that?"

"I'm not alone." Pete gripped his red collar. "Maybe I can't raise the farm on my own. But with you? I have a feeling everything… will be all right."

Claire stared at his face, the smile forming on his lips. A smile she couldn't take her eyes off. A smile radiating with renewed hope.

"We've had a rough start but…" Pete raised his fist. "Let's do our best to raise the farm. Together."

Claire winked, returning his fist bump. "You and me?"

"You and me."

...

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It was a pleasant surprise to find you could walk on your crops in the remake. That was a mild frustration of mine in the original game lol. Thought it'd be fun to reference that here.

Anyways, there might not be a new chapter in two months. I got life to attend to, at the moment. But I'll be back for sure!

Stay tuned for the next one!