Writing Hardship farm diaries

[Terdin]

I don't like getting inspiration for new stuff, since I've got enough novels to work on as it is, but I got it and writing it out is the only way to get it out of my head.
Here goes...

Prologue:
Some of my fondest childhood memories had been from Grandpa's farm. The wide space where his animals roamed free, trying to help him plant and water seeds by the small river. I wanted to be like him and he taught me how to do some basic stuff. It was a perfect place to play with my brother on our visits, even if we were warned to stay away from the ruins of a greenhouse. Grandma had died there, and he'd never been able to bring himself to rebuild it. We even attended festivals, even if my memory is a bit fuzzy on which ones they were. Mostly we children were running around playing tag, or stealing treats from the tables.

Then there was a time when it seemed like an eternity before I saw him again. Mom said something about a fire and having to rebuild. On our last visit, his house seemed a lot smaller. No kitchen. He had managed to save at least one of his beloved apple plushies though, those that I was never allowed to touch. My parents and my uncle's family each got some of his chests and whatever they contained. My brother got the chest with his mineral collection. Me? I got only a sealed envelope despite him calling me his favorite granddaughter. His exact words about it were lost to me, but I got the meaning, that I was not to open it until I was an adult and desperate for a change. The unfairness burned.
Not long after, he died.

Unable to cope with the betrayal of his death, I couldn't bear to even look at the envelope for many years. Only after I'd got a job, and was made to move out did I find it again. I'd hoped to be able to afford an apartment of my own, but with a low-wage deskjob of handling online orders and customer complaints, I couldn't. I had to settle for renting a room from one of the girls I sometimes spoke with at lunch. After some of my stuff went missing, I made sure to always carry the thick envelope with me. I still didn't want to find out what was in it. Probably just some trite "words of wisdom" supposed to help people go on through a difficult time. But I didn't want to lose it either.

The months, then years, dragged on. Yearly evaluations that seemed designed to keep me at minimum wage, or just above it. While there was a dress code, it wasn't enforced. The guy in the cubicle behind me got no write-ups for the big hat he wore. His occasional grunts and the other sounds coming from him told me that he most likely took extra breaks to watch other stuff, probably on a small window that his hat hid from the cameras continuously monitoring us. I tried to save up for the deposit needed for an apartment of my own, but it was difficult with barely scraping by from paycheck to paycheck, and the sum needed went up every year.

One day, wondering if the rest of my life would be like this or if I should end it myself, I finally decided I could use Grandpa's last message to me and maybe see if it held a life-changing amount of money. So what if they wrote me up or even fired me for reading private stuff during work. P T, the seal read... Patrick Tindall. While I had known his name, I'd always thought of him as Grandpa. No money in it, just a letter, several pages long.

- If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.

Just reading it made me cry. I could almost hear him speaking those words. Wiping my tears away I continued reading, despite the strange start of a long letter.

- I've enclosed the deed to that place - my pride and joy: Hardship Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast and the perfect place to start a new life.

I looked at the other papers in the envelope. The deed and all the legal papers to transfer it to me, not a long letter as I'd thought. It felt weird to think the farm had a name, and such an odd one too. I returned to reading.

- This was my most precious gift, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my girl.
Good luck.
Love, Grandpa.

P.S. If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?

Crying again, I wordlessly asked him to forgive me for all the years of thinking my inheritance had been the least valuable, the least life-changing. Despite being at work, I went online to see if I really had all the legal paperworks to take over the farm.

I wasted no time in quitting my job, the two weeks before I could collect my last paycheck went sooner than expected. I also moved out of the shared apartment and my parents allowed me to stay with them "until I found a new place".

"So, why didn't it work out with them?" Mom asked.

"Well, stuff went missing, just small things, nothing valuable, and not often, but kept on happening even after I made sure I knew exactly where I had things and made sure I always put them where they belonged."

She nodded, not fully convinced, knowing how careless I'd been with at least some of my belongings as a child. "How long do you think it'll be until you find a new place?" She asked to change the topic.

"I've already got one, but I need to wait for confirmation first. Grandpa gave me his farm." I showed her the deed. "I've already gone and handed in the paperwork to transfer it to me. He had them all filled in and signed, needing only my signature to complete it. They had some questions as to why the dates for the signatures were so different, but I managed to explain it."

"So that's where it was. We searched his cottage and the farm for it, thinking it might be hidden in a chest somewhere. Even asked Mayor Lewis about it, but he claimed my dad had it. I guess I suspected it might be in your envelope, but didn't want to ask. Didn't want to bring back bad memories for you. But you aren't going to move there, are you? Farming's too difficult for a girl like you. You've been spending the last few years at a desk, you're not fit enough."

"I can do it. I will not give up."

"So you say now, but in a year you'll probably want to sell it and return to the comforts of the city."

What comforts? Dead-end jobs, living from paycheck to paycheck. Always worrying about stuff I couldn't do anything about. I wouldn't be any worse off on the farm, and there were probably more stuff I could do something about, but I didn't say that to Mom.

My parents kept on saying stuff about me not being able to make it, mostly Mom, Dad was occasionally supportive. Then came the day when I was about to leave. I'd made a donation to Yoba and prayed to be relieved of my memories and the skills I'd developed while working for Joja, and I had indeed forgot most of the details. What little I did remember made me sure I never wanted to return to a job like that. I'd also bought some more appropriate leg-wear for farming. Knee-length skirt was good enough for a desk job, but I didn't want crops and other plants sneaking up where they didn't belong. Of course I picked a purple pair of trousers. No reason to not choose my favorite color.

"I've checked the value for the land, Erica. When you give up your attempts to become a farmer next year, you should at least be able to buy a small apartment," Mom said as I packed my few belongings, primarily socks and underwear, and some toiletries. "Don't forget your swimsuit. You might want to take a swim in summer, or maybe visit the spa if it's still there. Come back and visit us sometimes, will you?"

I'd had enough of her negative outlook on my prospects. "I won't come back to visit until I've earned at least a billion G on that farm. Won't give up before then either. You can visit me, if you want." I immediately regretted my words, but I wouldn't give Mom the satisfaction of going back on them. At least it shut her up.

"You should at least try to keep a diary," Dad said. "That way you can see how far you've got since your arrival, and how your progress is going. You should also take some of your Grandpa's tools with you. Sadly, we sold most of his better tools, but you wouldn't get all that far with farming if you had no tools at all."

The tools he brought me looked cheap, more like gardening tools for a back garden than proper farming tools. He was right that they were better than nothing at all, but really. A few rust spots, and dark stains where sweaty hands had gripped the handle for long days at work, revealed their age, but otherwise they were in good condition. I checked the edges, especially on the axe and scythe, and found signs of recent sharpening. At least Dad was quietly trying to help me succeed.

Then I finally boarded the monthly bus to Calico Desert - the closest destination - and asked the driver to drop me off at Pelican Town in Stardew Valley on the way there.

...
To be continued.

 

[Gamer1234556]

Cool!

 

[Liaishere]

I love it!

 

[Terdin]

Moving in
How to start this diary thing... "Dear Diary" sounds so trite. Maybe best to just write what happened.
Oh my. Didn't expect that. When the bus dropped me off I found a red-headed woman waiting for me, around the same age as my mom but maybe a couple years younger. How long she'd waited for the bus, I don't know. I had emailed the mayor of Pelican Town to avoid surprising them entirely, and it seemed like it caused a bigger stir than I thought it would. I think Grandpa choose to buy lands by that town because it had the same initials as him. Anyhow, the woman introduced herself as Robin, the local carpenter, and she showed me the way to the farm, maybe not knowing it wasn't really needed.

It seemed like a much shorter walk as an adult. Seeing the farm was a shock, even if it shouldn't have been all that unexpected. It had been unoccupied for over fifteen years after all. With that in mind it wasn't all that overgrown with weeds and trees. But the vast open space I remembered from my childhood? Not all that big. Large enough to graze a few animals in, which in hindsight was all that Grandpa had kept. The steps down to the canyon floor was paired had a mate close to the greenhouse ruin if my memory was correct. Seeing it with adult eyes made it clear why Grandpa or someone before him had named the farm Hardship farm. How would I be able to earn the ridiculous sum I'd told Mom I'd get? It would take me all my life to get to a billion G, or at least the rest of Mom's life. No. I would find a way even if large-scale farming wasn't possible.

There were no animals now, and neither coop nor barn nor sheds were anywhere in sight. Robin tried to downplay the weeds, trees and general debris. So this was why Mom had been betting that I'd give up soon enough. Some vague mention of her having driven down here to tend Grandpa's grave around Spirits' Eve rose in my memory. She had seen this. But while she was right that I wasn't fit and hadn't been working out for several years, it wasn't something that would last. Taming my farm would make me fit.

"It's less overgrown than I expected considering how long it's been since Grandpa died. Oh, maybe I should mention that I'm Roxanne's daughter."

Robin paused, searching for words. "Your uncle Richard sold off the animals soon after Patrick died, then asked if I could demolish the extra buildings and pay him for the materials I could re-use. I was new here and he showed me some papers that indicated that he had the right to do that, so I did as he asked. Sorry."

It was my turn to pause. "Not your fault. Better than having a bunch of feral animals and even more ruins to deal with."

She led a few steps closer to the front door. "And here we are, your new home."

An older guy exited the cottage-like farmhouse. He was maybe 5-10 years older than Dad. Mayor Lewis. The guy Grandpa had described as an old guy, probably not knowing how long it would be before I tired of city life, and Robin had said he was cleaning up the farmhouse for me. They must've been good friends if he went out of his way to tidy up close to two decades of dust and cobwebs for the arrival of his friend's granddaughter.

"Ah, the new farmer!" Lewis said. "Welcome! I'm Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town."

I blinked at the impersonal introduction. "Hello, Lewis. I'm Erica Nilson, Patrick Tindall's granddaughter. My mom, Roxanne, took her husbands last name when she married," I explained. So, he hadn't done it for his friend's granddaughter. Maybe he'd just done it to make sure nothing had been left behind that he thought the new owner shouldn't have. "In the letter Grandpa gave me, he asked me to say 'hi' to you," I added, not wanting to mention anything else about the request since Lewis was obviously still alive.

He looked stunned for a moment. "Oh. You know, everyone's been asking about you. It's not every day that someone new moves in. It's quite a big deal!" He paused. "Well, maybe you're not exactly new, but with a different last name you didn't seem related to old Patrick, so we thought you were just someone who'd bought the deed. So... You're moving into your grandfather's old cottage. It's a good house... very 'rustic'."

Robin laughed. "Rustic? That's one way to put it... 'Crusty' might be a little more apt, though."

"Don't be rude! Don't listen to her, Erica. She's just trying to make you dissatisfied so that you buy one of her house upgrades."

Robin grumbled at having her scheme seen through so easily. Mayor Lewis suggested I go in and get rested up from my journey and then explore the town next morning and introduce myself. His tone indicated I should try to get to know everyone even if he didn't say it. After some prompting, he revealed there were 28 people living in the town if you counted the children too, including the two of them. So, 26 people more to get introduced to. I thanked them for their welcome and went inside.

The inside was different than I remembered. No floral wallpaper, just bare stone walls. I ran a hand over it. No. It was new wallpaper that just looked like stone walls. Maybe just as well. The old wallpaper had probably started to fall off. The fireplace was bare of decoration, and the sign of Yoba had long since been transferred to Mom's room, but the old sign - supposedly from the mines - still hung on the wall, moved to a more prominent position. From a distance, the two crossed pickaxes seemed real, but they were just cut out of sheet metal and painted. A low table, some straw mats on the floor, a lamp, and a TV. Not much in the way of comfort. I checked the crystal on the table. Just a glass imitation with no real value. I left it there, the sole piece of color in the house, and more importantly it was purple, making the house feel a little bit more like it was mine. I left the gift-wrapped box on the floor for the morning, having enough to consider as it was.

Where to start... No. Clearing the farm didn't require much consideration. Around the crop land down by the river, and between farmhouse and the two other paths that led from the farm. While I hadn't been able to see either exit today I knew they should be there unless there had been landslides or rockfalls. That was first priority. After that I could go more by what resource I needed. How to keep my vow to Mom would have to wait until I knew more about what ways there were to earn money here.

Lewis and Robin had been right though. I would need to upgrade the house at some point. A kitchen would make it easier to keep me fed. Raw vegetables and whatever I could forage would grow boring fast.

Time to put away this diary for now and get some sleep.

 

[Terdin]

Spring 1
The gift box proved to contain 15 parsnip seeds. Better than nothing and saving me from spending a few hundred G. The TV was in working condition, and the weather channel said it would be sunny tomorrow. Didn't bother with the fortune telling. Farm chores didn't need luck, and neither did socializing, most of the time. Living Off The Land mentioned foraging for edible stuff while waiting for the crops to ripen, which was good advice. The 500 G I had left after the bus ticket wouldn't buy me more than one or two meals unless there was a Joja mart nearby. No. Even if there was, I wouldn't buy food there again unless I really became desperate.

I started clearing some land near the river, it seemed the most convenient place for crops. After a few trees and some weeds and other debris I paused, realizing my backpack was full already. I used most of the wood to craft a chest to hold the remaining stuff, barely remembering to add the symbols that were supposed to keep the chest's content in pristine condition. Mom had claimed it didn't, because it didn't work for her, but it had worked for Grandpa. Placed the chest next to my doorstep, then planted and watered my seeds before I left most tools in the chest and headed south. I didn't want to get too exhausted to be civil. I had vague memories of following Grandpa south to look for forage. Only one of the three rickety bridges leading south could be used and took me past the farm's small quarry. It was another area of the farm I had been warned away from as a child.

Speaking about children, the first villager I met was a girl heading out from another farmstead with a coiled jump rope in hand, Jas, who shyly returned my greeting. No-one else was in the house, but a counter suggested I could buy some stuff there later. Then a young woman from a small cabin by the river. Leah is a red-head like Robin, but around my age and seems nice enough.

There were just a few spring onions on the sandy ground closer to the sea, and it turned out I didn't need my hoe to get the onions out of the ground. A wild horseradish and a dandelion also got into my backpack, but I hoped I wouldn't need to eat any of it soon, or my breath would prevent making a good first impression.

On my way to town I met a blonde girl heading out to the forest with a camera, Haley. Her dismissal of my clothes reminded me of some of the girls I'd seen in school, not seeming to care about anyone but themselves unless they could gossip about some scandal. Well, I could be grown-up enough to be civil, and avoid behavior that could be turned into malicious gossip.

A sturdy-looking woman around my mom's age was heading out of town, carrying a basket laden with groceries. She introduced herself as Marnie and told me she sold animals. At my mention that my uncle had sold off Grandpa's animals, she apologized for buying them but reminded me that there had been no-one around to care for the animals. I quickly agreed that it was a good thing, not wanting her to make me pay more than needed for animals when I’d finally be able to care for them.

Looking into the nearest house let me introduce myself to a boy, Vincent, his mom, Jodi. Both of them a bit wary but friendly enough. Next door I met a blue-haired young woman, maybe a few years older than me, who introduced herself as Emily and inviting me to come to the Saloon where she worked. Another young woman sat reading under a tree, Penny, who barely returned my greeting before returning her attention to the book.

A look into the clinic revealed no-one there but I found the local doctor, Harvey, taking an after-lunch break close enough that he'd hear anyone calling him back for an emergency.

At the general store next to the clinic I met Leah again. A green-haired woman around Jodi’s age was restocking shelves nearby. At first I took Caroline for an employee, but she turned out to be the wife of Pierre, the store owner, and mentioned having a purple-haired daughter. Pierre seemed happy to have a farmer in town and eager to sell me seeds. It felt kind of strange to know I was the only one producing food and that the rest had to be shipped in. However, I wasn’t about to buy seeds any time soon, needing to preserve my energy for other chores.

Purple-haired Abigail was watching the river from the bridge and admitted to having explored my farm. So, she's probably the reason why it wasn’t even more overgrown than it was, but I forgot to thank her for it.

Then I saw it. A Joja mart. My heart sank, but I still went inside. One middle-aged woman shopping, Pam, warned me to not be a jerk. There were also two young men working. Sam, a few years younger than me, returned my greeting. Shane, at least 5 years older than me, did not, but his name tag gave me his name at least. I didn't say more than hello to them, to avoid getting them in trouble. I also avoided the manager and the cashier near him, not wanting to make either of them think I wanted to buy anything.

Exploring down south on that side of the river I smelled the smith's place before I saw it. A sign said they were open to 4 pm and I entered the building with minutes to spare and introduced myself to Clint, who said he could upgrade my tools. Checked his prices and it costs more than I can afford any time soon. It was strange to find a combined library and museum so close to the smith, but there it was. Not wanting to get sidetracked, I avoided going in.

Crossing another bridge back to “my” side of the river, I went to greet a guy at the bridge leading to the beach, Elliot. He... kinda looks like he matches Haley in vanity, and much too flirty for my taste. He did mention that I had been a source for gossip prior to my arrival. i sighed. They probably would talk more about me behind my back when they learned I was Patrick's granddaughter rather than some total stranger.

The white house nearby proved to belong to Mayor Lewis, even if he was currently out. I could tell from the ledgers and the clearly marked lost-and-found box.

Penny sat on a bench nearby, chatting quietly with a brown-skinned girl introducing herself as Maru. Maru seemed happy to meet me, so it seemed the gossip about my arrival had mostly been positive. A buff guy watching a dog pen beside the saloon introduced himself as Alex, eying me speculatively as he said he thought we’d get along great.

Now that the saloon had opened for the day, I went inside to greet the proprietor, Gus. Didn’t even check what he had for sale, since I didn’t want to be tempted to buy anything. Emily was at work and too busy to chat. To settle my empty stomach I ate a spring onion after leaving, not caring about my breath anymore. If Gus sold food he wouldn't want people to bring their own and eat it there.

The last remaining house in the main part of town held an elderly couple. Evelyn was welcoming, asking me to call her “Granny”. Her husband George was not, but I think I too would be rather grumpy if I was in a wheel-chair like him. A trailer stood near their house, but I avoided that too.

On the plateau north of the main area of town, surrounded by a park, stood a dilapidated house. It was locked and it didn’t seem like anyone was living there. Kind of looked as rundown as how I’d imagined Grandpa’s cottage before my arrival. I frowned at it, searching my memory in vain. Maybe if I saw the inside I'd remember if I'd been in there as a child.

Up another slope was a large building with a telescope in a small fenced-in yard. A dark-skinned guy, Demetrius, introduced himself as a scientist and mentioned being Maru’s father. No surprise there. Robin then emerged from the house.

"Have you met everyone yet? That sounds exhausting," she told me.

Probably more that I seemed exhausted after running around town for most of the day. I counted on my fingers more than once, saying names under my breath to figure out how many of the 26 I’d met. "Not yet. Just 23 of the 26 Lewis mentioned."

Robin merely nodded when I went to see if she had any more family members apart from Demetrius and Maru. I met a pale black-haired guy coming from their basement, Sebastian. He was rather obviously not the son of Demetrius, and seemed older than Maru, so... Robin’s son from an earlier marriage most likely, unless he was adopted.

"Oh. You just moved in, right? Cool. Out of all places you could live, you chose Pelican Town?" He seemed more negative about the town than about me moving in.

"Grandpa left me his farm, and I needed a change in my life," I said, not wanting to say too much.

"Cool." His tone said he didn't care about my reasons.

It was then that I caught a whiff of something I had learned to grow wary of. Well, that explained his attitude. I glanced at the laboratory room behind him before nodding to Sebastian and leaving.

Night was falling and I started looking for the path that would take me to the northern exit/entrance to my farm. In doing so I encountered a bright yellow tent with a scruffy-looking older man cooking some kind of root over a campfire. He returned my greeting in a guarded way.

I pursed my lips. If this guy counted, I was just missing one person, but at this time people would start locking their doors, making the remaining person impossible to find. Maybe I shouldn't have ignored the trailer and the museum. Finding the right path to return home, I paused. I had a vague memory of there being something north of there, but a landslide had at least blocked the way and maybe destroyed what was beyond. Hadn’t there been a railroad station? I think we took the train to see Grandpa a few times. Maybe that was why the walk to the farm had seemed so much shorter yesterday. I also hadn't seen the spa Mom had mentioned, so maybe it was there too.

Returning to the farm didn’t take long, and I cut down a couple more trees before I snuck over to my quarry. The copper ore node I located proved a lot harder than the regular stones elsewhere. Even the normal-looking rocks in the quarry were more difficult to turn into stones for crafting, and one odd-looking stone yielded a geode. Found some kind of seed while whacking weeds on my way to the quarry, but planting it had to wait until morning, when I had regained some energy. Went home to write down the day’s events before I forgot too many details.

 

[Jayamos]

I’m enjoying this! I think it’s tough to write the early game without getting bogged down in details players already know, but the family drama and the farmer’s reactions and clear voice bring it all to life. Looking forward to more. Also, purple trousers!

 

[Terdin]

Spring 2 and 3
I woke up feeling more refreshed than I'd expected after so much physical work. A dream of sorts had reminded me of tree seeds, and how to turn those into a handy snack. Also something about making seeds that would grow more of what I could forage. Weather forecast for tomorrow was rain, so a respite from watering. Fortune telling claimed I'd have bad luck. Maybe best to make sure I didn't fell a tree over myself.

Clint met me on my doorstep as I left to tend my crops and clear some more of my land. He mentioned having heard I'd got my hands on some copper ore and gave me the blueprints for a furnace. I looked after him when he left. He'd heard about it? Who'd snuck onto my farm? Only one I could think of was Lewis. Had he looked into my storage chest when he came to see if I'd shipped anything and then ran to tell Clint? Not nearly enough copper or stone yet to make a furnace.

Then I noticed my mail box had a letter in it. Someone named Willy wanted me to come see him on the beach. Well, it was one place I hadn't visited yesterday, so maybe that was the missing person. Hopefully he wasn't upset that he was the only one I hadn't greeted yet.

I still felled a few trees and watered my parsnips. Looked around for some more tree seeds and made a couple of snacks from them, wrapping them in maple leaves to keep them from messing up my backpack. Made another chest too. It would be bothersome to run back home every time my backpack became full, so having another chest at some other location could be useful.

Took the southern exit to look for spring onions. Despite the supposedly bad luck, there were quite a few of them. Took another detour to have Clint open the geode, which turned out to cost less than I'd feared. A Thunder Egg. Went to see if I could sell it to the museum. The proprietor, Gunther, wouldn't buy it, but asked me to donate it. When I did, to keep the displays from being completely bare, he handed me a small envelope "as a way of thanks", as he put it.

Then I made my way to the beach, steadying my nerves as I walked across the bridge leading out of town. A fish shop stood on the docks. To my relief, Willy greeted me warmly and mentioned having been out at sea yesterday, then handed me his old fishing rod. So, I couldn't have met him even if I'd come out here. That was a relief. Willy also mentioned buying any fish I caught. Maybe that was a decent way to earn some money?

I caught a couple of fish from the sea, struggling with each. Then gathered up the shellfish I could see at the beach, checking a broken bridge with some coral visible beyond it. That had to be worth more than the shellfish. And repairing a bridge was something I should be able to do if I had enough wood. Wondering how long it would take me to gather enough I went to sell my catch to Willy. Not much, but even a couple hundred G meant I'd be able to afford one more bought meal, or more seeds.

Maybe the fish in the river in town were less difficult to catch. They were, and I put down my chest by a bush near Jodi's house. I kept on fishing most of that day, greeting the few people that walked past, eating some onions, then trying one of the snacks I'd made. Definitely tastier than the onions. I even ate some of the smaller fish whole, after gutting them like Grandpa had shown me when I was little. Fishing was definitely demanding more of me than chopping wood was, though a couple of weeks ago I wouldn't have believed it. Night fell as it gradually got a bit easier to catch the fish. Caught a few geodes and other somewhat valuable items too, and of course some of the trash others had thrown in the river. Then I noticed Shane passing by. He told me to leave him alone, his breath reeking of beer. I would, at least tonight. Maybe I'd catch him at a better mood some time later, or at least less drunk.

Noticing how late it had become, I rushed home, throwing some of the fish in the shipping bin on the way. Didn't have time to write in my diary and dove into bed.

Again I woke up feeling really good. Something in the valley's air must be agreeing with me. Then I realized I remembered how Grandpa had made bait from bug meat. The bugs and flies on the farm were too small though and I didn't know where he'd got what he had used, so it was a future problem.

Like the forecast, it was raining on the 3rd, but the next day was supposed to be sunny. Good luck, according to the fortune teller. Took the time to take down some trees and make a snack from tree seeds before heading out to look for more spring onions. I could've saved myself the detour. Luck obviously wasn't involved with the growth of spring onions.

I went down to the beach, to see if what I'd learned about fishing meant I wouldn't struggle as much to catch the quicker fish there. It was decidedly easier. When I went to sell the first batch, I noticed Willy had a rod for sale that could be baited, and that he sold bait cheaply. Even some eel bait. Didn't some dishes use eel? With new determination I went back out, wanting to earn enough to afford the other rod. On my next visit to sell fish, I also checked the envelope Gunther had given me, and my eyes widened. 250 G? He must've been happier to have at least something to display than I'd thought. It allowed me to buy both the rod, the 11 pieces of eel bait he had, and as many pieces of ordinary bait as I could afford.

"When's a good time to catch eel?" I asked.

"Around now, lass. Some fish come and go with the seasons. Others come out at night or in the rain. In the case of eel, both."

Bait sure made the fish bite a lot sooner than they had when my hook was empty. I waited until nightfall before I put on my first piece of eel bait. The first one surprised me with how much more difficult it was compared to even the flounders, but I managed to catch it. Then I found that not just eel went for the eel bait, but when that ran out, I had 6 eels to show for it. I went to put them and the rest of my catch in my chest, even if I'd eaten some of the sardines and herrings, then tried the river. Caught a shad, which was new. Probably a species that came out in the rain, as I hadn't caught one last night. One small-mouth bass later, I got something else on the rod. It was a lot trickier than the eel, darting unpredictably here and there, and got off the hook.

Annoyed, I put away what I'd caught in the chest, ate some of the algae from yesterday, then went to the saloon to see if anyone else had braved the weather. Leah was there, as well as Gus, Emily, Willy, Clint, and Shane. Most of them gave me greetings that were friendly enough, but once again Shane was drunk and told me to go away.

I did so, giving the river fish another go until Shane passed by on his way home. Waiting for the fish to bite had left me with time to think. Alcohol tended to enhance whatever mood one was in. It was the third day straight I'd seen Shane grumpy and unwilling to talk, reminding me a little of how I'd been the weeks before I finally opened Grandpa's final letter. Was he in a depression? I had no idea what to do or say if that was the case. Trying to cheer him up would not work if it wasn't just a temporary setback. What I could do was keep on saying hello to him and hope to let him know he wasn't alone and shunned, even if he seemed to want to be. I hadn't seen anyone else talking to him, even if he probably was exchanging at least some words with Gus and Emily, and with those he lived with. But was it Marnie and Jas, or Leah? I followed him, noting that he headed for Marnie's farmstead rather than Leah's cottage. That might explain some of Jas' shyness too.

I went home, determined to write in my diary, but ended up nodding off at the low table around 2 am.

 

[Terdin]

Day 4 and 5
I once again felt strangely energized with just 4 hours of sleep. Or less, since I'd woken up during the night and moved to my bed. Another memory surfaced, this time of how Grandpa had made the crab pots he'd had soaking in the river. Not like I could make one anytime soon, since they required iron.

Forecast sunny, spirits slightly displeased. Living off the land mentioned the spring onions I'd already gathered a few of.

Not having much bait left, I went to my small quarry after watering the crops. I took out the nodes where I saw copper or geodes first, then a few of the rocks. While the axe had become easier to handle, the pickaxe required different muscles. When I spotted worms, I dug for them, hoping each time that I'd get bait, but instead I got mainly coal, and a few stones. Darn. Oh well. Grandpa had always said one couldn't have too much coal. Backpack full again, I went back to empty it, taking out a few rocks and branches along the way. Checking my stash I realized I had enough copper ore and stones to make a furnace, so I made it. Not enough copper left after it to smelt though.

Then took the route past the bus stop to town, making a detour for a dandelion and a daffodil.

I handed the daffodil to Caroline when I met her in the square. It never hurt to be friends with those running a store. To my surprise, she glanced over her shoulder towards the general store and handed me an envelope.

"Just something you can buy seeds with if you're short on money," she said in a low voice.

I nodded. "Thank you," I said belatedly. Had her husband complained about me not buying any seeds?

As she went over to chat with Jodi, I checked the envelope. Just 100 G. After a quick detour to greet Jodi I went to check Pierre's prices. The money would get me at most 5 seeds, but it would get me 20 pieces of bait. I hurried down to Willy's shop to buy bait instead, greeting the few villagers I spotted on the way. I barely registered their responses.

Went looking for spring onions and to my surprise I found 19 of them, with even some of silver and gold quality. While I'd met Haley going out with her camera my first morning, she wasn't there today and to be honest I was quite relieved to not have to talk to her. I spent the rest of the day near Jodi's house fishing in the river, eating a few spring onions when my strength waned. The fish were definitely getting easier to catch. I caught more gold quality fish than I'd done before, and even a few iridium quality. I somehow caught a couple of geodes and other items other than algae and trash. While I wouldn't pay 75 G to buy a joja cola, I didn't mind catching them. Quick energy boost, but made me restless.

Watching my float left me with time to think. If I were to earn a billion G, I'd need to average over 10 million a year. That sum would get me there in 100 years, which was a lot longer than I could expect to live. Even 20 million would be too low, getting me there in 50 years. I'd probably live that long, but my parents wouldn't. But right now, even 1 million seemed like an insurmountable amount. With what I'd earned over the past days it was clear I wouldn't reach my far-off goal by fishing alone, and I had no idea what would. But it would keep me fed and give me seed money - literally and figuratively - while looking for better ways of earning.

I used my last piece of bait, then was about to cast my line one last time when Shane passed by on his way home. I greeted him, getting a drunkenly loud urging to leave him alone in return. Then I hurried home, bringing some of the fish along to sell, as well as the geodes and an old spoon. At the last moment, I put most of the fish in my chest instead of the shipping bin. If I hadn't money on hand, I couldn't fall for the temptation to buy a cooked meal. With the geodes I'd gathered, it could be a good idea to have Clint open them. Gunther had mentioned occasional rewards for me as the musum collection increased.

I must've fallen asleep by the chest, considering what to bring to Clint and the museum.

Waking up I was a bit surprised to find myself in my bed. A muddy outline of a footprint on the floor, bigger than my feet, told me someone had helped put me to bed fully clothed. I checked my pockets, then the backpack. Nothing seemed to be missing.

Weather forecast for the 6th: rain. Luck neutral. Didn't need some fortune teller telling me that luck was in my own hands.

Exiting the house I found Marnie waiting on my doorstep. I braced myself for a lecture on not sleeping outside. No lecture came. She mentioned finding a stray cat near my farm. I looked down at the white cat by her feet and that was it. Of course I agreed to keep it. A cat could keep mice and other vermin from eating my crops before they ripened, even if she probably couldn't do anything about crows. And she would provide welcome company. Someone to come home to, who was also independent enough to not need constant attention.

I named the cat Belle, because she was a little beauty, and because cats often liked to play with bells. A quick check when Belle rolled over on her back on my sun-warmed porch revealed that she had been recently spayed. The scar was still red even if it had healed enough that Belle wasn't bothered by it. Had Marnie done that before bringing her over? If so, she must have found Belle over a week ago, before I moved in.

The next I noticed was that I'd got mail. The first surprised me. Linus claimed he'd scared away someone else digging through my pockets, but it sounded false. So, Linus had been the one to put me to bed, gently enough that I hadn't woken up. I checked my chest. Nothing was missing, and I still had as much small change as yesterday. He hadn't taken anything as a reward. Maybe I didn't have to be all that wary of him, but that didn't mean I wanted to make a habit of falling asleep outside my home. What if it had been someone wanting to take advantage of me? What if I had enough money that Linus or someone else felt I wouldn't miss some?

Second letter was one I didn't really want to open, as I recognized the envelope. What did Joja company want me? I'd collected my last paycheck already, and there shouldn't be anything more to tie me to them. My hands shook as I unfolded the letter. Oh. Only a notice that they'd cleared the landslide by the lake. Probably something sent to everyone in and around town.

Collecting the money from the shipping bin, I went to water my crops and found the parsnips ready to harvest. Just one crop to water, another parsnip judging by its leaves. I put away the ripe parsnips in the chest. The fish there seemed as fresh as they had been yesterday, making me grin. Apparently the preserving symbols worked as intended for me. Intending to fish by the lake if I couldn't find any rocks worth breaking on the mountainside, I made another chest to place somewhere there, and brought it with me along with my stash of spring onions.

I hurried past the bus stop, eager to reach the smithy soon after it opened. Then stopped as I encountered Lewis walking towards the farm. He congratulated me on my first harvest and urged me to build a scarecrow to protect my crops. Then he beckoned me to follow him, leading me through the park to the dilapidated house. The old community center. When he mentioned selling it to Joja if anyone else bought a Joja membership, I couldn't help but glance in the direction of Joja mart. They wouldn't get to hook their claws into me again. I looked back in time to see him looking at me worriedly. Was I the only one in town apart from him that didn't have a Joja membership? Had he misread my glance and thought it was just a matter of time until I could afford it?

Without commenting, he unlocked the door. Inside was a mess. Plants had broken through the floor, and a hut that Lewis suspected that Vincent and Jas had built. It was then that I saw it. One of those green apple plushies, but standing on spindly legs and waving at me. They were alive? Was that why Grandpa hadn't wanted me to touch them?

Lewis turned around to see what had surprised me, and the apple vanished from sight.

"It was something small here, but it vanished real fast," I said, not wanting to try to describe what I'd seen for fear of being thought of as crazy.

"Probably a rat," he theorized.

Not uncommon in run down buildings, but it was definitely no rat. Another green apple appeared behind him, unless it was the same, again waving to get my attention, vanishing when Lewis turned around to try to see what had startled me.

"You're worrying me, Erica. Maybe you've overworked yourself on that farm. Anyway, I'll leave the door unlocked. Maybe you can help take care of the rat problem. I need to go get some lunch."

Lunch? At this time in the morning? I looked at his back as he left, then went back inside to see if I could find any more apple plushies. I walked carefully in case the floorboards were rotten. The building was gutted. Someone had removed every piece of useful furniture and destroyed what they couldn't remove. The safe had been broken open and plundered. The old boiler looked like someone had set off a bomb inside it. The barrels in the old pantry looked decent at first but their bottom lids were missing. The last room held a surprise. A scroll of sorts, giving off a golden glow, and a yellow apple skittering away from it.

The scroll held a long row of unknown symbols, but some were similar to the symbols I'd carved into the chests. Shaking my head I left the building.

The fresh air outside reminded me of my errands to see Clint and Gunther. I hurried over there, eager to get that over with so I could see what the area behind the former landslide held.

Several pretty minerals in the geodes. Orpiment, Slate, Malachite, and to my surprise also copper ore and some stone. I had to run over to the museum after that to dump... donate the display-worthy stones and the rusty spoon. Gunther mentioned having something for me, but I went back to crack the last ones. Mudstone, Sandstone, and a total of 10 coal. I brought the rocks to the museum, more than half expecting Gunther to reject at least the mudstone. He didn't. He was happy to display it, and I asked him to show me the reward. 9 Cauliflower seeds worth 720 G. I eagerly accepted them.

I took detour to my fishing chest to get the green algae, checking trash cans along the way if there was no-one nearby. Most of the time I didn't find anything worthwhile, but the one outside Jodi's house held a field snack still in its paper wrapper. After that I headed over to the mountain lake and found a shored-up cave mouth, a mine. A bit further on a house could be seen between the trees. Mine first. If I could get permission to help dig there I might be able to earn a bit..

Cautiously I entered the cave, finding a one-eyed man peering down a shaft with a ladder. The man introduced himself as Marlon, leader for the Adventurer's guild located nearby. So, that was what the house was. He gave me permission to go down, with the caution that rocks and ore wouldn't be the only thing I'd find down there. Then he handed me a rusty sword.

"Let's see if you can reach the 5th floor. If you get there, try to reach floor 40, and once there you should see how much deeper you can get." With that, he left.

I watched him leave. He favored one leg, but still moved in a way that made me imagine he could handle just about anything in a one-on-one fight. Outside the sky was just starting to blush.

Why had he given permission to some random young woman? Telling me to go into danger not knowing if I could use a sword? It'd make more sense if he'd entrusted the mine exploration to Alex or someone. Was it because I had been the first person adventurous enough to peek into the mine? Had he been a friend of Grandpa, knew who I was, and wanted to see if I was enough like him? And what was down there? Mom had often told Grandpa to not frighten me with his made-up stories about monsters. Had those stories been true?

I turned my attention to the mine shaft, then noticed the elevator at the back of the room. Not functioning. Neither was the nearby mine cart. I sighed, feeling silly for having got my hopes up. Could I get them to work somehow? There had been mine carts at the bus stop and near Clint's. Were they connected?

I placed my newest chest by the broken elevator and dumped most of my stuff into it. Steadying my nerves, I climbed down into the dark, wishing I had a lantern.

The interior of the mine was more well-lit than I'd expected. One blob of slime oozed, then bounced in my direction. It seemed to take forever to take it down and its tackles hurt more than I expected from something so squishy. I pocketed a piece of its slime and some sap. So, some monsters were real.
No ore at this floor. No way down either, and the mines were supposed to go a lot deeper than this. Some rocks proved as tough as those in the quarry on my farm, others as easy as those elsewhere. One of them covered the ladder going further down.

Floor 2 gave me some copper ore, and some kind of large bug flew mindlessly back and forth. I attacked it, to see if they were easier than the slimes, and if that would give me the materials for making bait. My answers were yes, and yes. I avoided a slime that seemed fenced in by some rocks and looked for the way further down. Some of the rocks proved to contain pieces of coal. The sap got discarded for a piece of quartz that might be interesting enough for Gunther. I had enough sap from chopping down trees.

Floor 3 held some larvae. I killed two with some difficulty, but the third went into a cocoon and turned into a fly that was a lot different than the mindless bug, seeking vengeance for my earlier attacks. It went down after giving me some nasty scratches. 3 pieces of bug meat for later bait went into the backpack. I ate some onions before looking for the way down. I made sure to get all the copper ore before hacking at random rocks in my search.

Floor 4 brought more larvae, and more flies. The one mindless bug was a relief in comparison. More copper ore and quartz too and an earth crystal. I ate a few spring onions while looking for the way down. A glance at my watch put more urgency to my search. Just one more floor and I was down at the first level Marlon had mentioned. Why had he specified floor 5? I went down as soon as I found the ladder, not even worrying about what I might find, figuring I could scurry up almost as fast as I got down.

A second after I reached floor 5, I jumped at a "ding!" to my right and a lamp lit up. The elevator showed signs of having been returned to working order. I went in, noting that it only stopped on ground floor and floor 5, but I didn't stop to think more about it or who had made the repairs. It was already past midnight.

I threw the stuff for Gunther in the chest, took out my fishing rod and seeds, then hurried home, forcing myself to run despite being worn out and nursing injuries from the monster attacks.