Jessica and Taylor were strolling down the forest path, with Jessica chattering about the things she saw and heard in the town. Despite being a small village in the middle of nowhere, seemingly, something always happened around here.
Taylor heard some rustling behind them, and turning around, she saw a guy hoeing the ground, finding a chicken-shaped object, holding it above his head and running away with it the opposite direction.
This is a weird place, huh.
"Can you believe it?" Jessica asked excitedly.
"What was that?" Taylor asked, turning back to her mother.
"The Flower Dance is this week" Jessica replied happily. "A local festival of some sort. It just sounds so exciting."
"I remember reading about it…" Taylor replied, but she was distracted by a red-haired lady waving at them, inviting them over at the nearby house.
"You must be the new residents" the lady exclaimed excitedly. "I'm Robin, the town carpenter. Come on in, I'll introduce you to my husband."
"Such friendly neighbours" Jessica whispered to Taylor, as they entered the house.
"Greetings! I'm Demetrius, local scientist and father" the dark-skinned man said with a kind but firm voice.
"Greeting, Demetrius" Jess grinned at the formal introduction. "I'm Jessica and she's my daughter, Taylor. I didn't think we'll have neighbours up here, but I'm glad you live nearby" she said happily.
"You're always welcome to visit us, you know," said Robin kindly. "It can get pretty lonely up here in the mountains."
"Oh, sure, thank you" Jessica said with a thankful voice. "And you know, the same goes for you. You guys can just pop by for a visit anytime when you're free."
"Thank you. Maybe we will take you up on that offer sometime" Robin smiled. "Have you met everyone in town yet?" she asked in a somewhat interested tone.
"Me? Absolutely. I've been spending a lot of time in town" Jessica said happily.
"That sounds exhausting" Robin added with a small sigh.
"Thank you" Taylor said, trying her best to express her heartfelt gratitude to the carpenter's honesty. "That's what I've been saying since we got here."
"Nonsense!" Jessica exclaimed with a laugh. "That's the fun part of it. Getting to know everyone in the new community. Just because you prefer staying in the house all day" she started, looking at her daughter, "It doesn't mean everyone enjoys being alone."
Robin smiled at that comment. It reminded her of Sebastian.
"So what do you do for a living as a scientist in this small town?" asked Jessica curiously.
"I'm studying the local plants and animals from my home laboratory" Demetrius said, motioning towards a hallway to his right, ending in a brightly lit room.
As he said that, the door opened, and the farmer entered, stopping in front of the cashier desk of the carpentry.
"I'm sorry, but duty calls" Robid said with a smile.
"Oh, don't worry. We'll also be on our way" Jess said, already making her way towards the door, her daughter following.
"Thanks for introducing yourselves!" exclaimed Demetrius with a small smile.
"Thank you for… Being so kind to us" Jessica chuckled. "See you later" she said, and with a small wave, they left.
After they walked away from the house, Jess hugged her daughter.
"Such nice people" she sighed. "I'm so happy we have such nice neighbours."
"Yeah. They seemed fine" Taylor said simply.
"Wait a minute, young lady" Jess stopped, looking at Taylor. "You didn't even say a word when we were inside."