Emo boy [Stardew Valley]

Chapter 5 - People are like stones

I've decided to get up as early as possible to finally start actually working on my farm. I have so many plans and visions, but none of that will come true if I waste my time strolling around too much. I start by axing down a few smaller trees around my cabin, as well as removing some of the rocks. After just half an hour, I start feeling exhausted.

I've never had to do manual labor before. I've gotten so used to just typing away at my computer. I'm sure I'll get used to this after a while though, and it's definitely a lot better for my body than constantly sitting in the exact same position in a dark, smelly room is. I take a big swing with my axe, and watch as it makes its last cut through the tree, and it falls down.

I lift my arm to sweep off the puddle of sweat from my forehead, and take a couple deep breaths. I'm sure this space is enough to at least plant a couple crops. I dig up some of the ground, then grab some of the seeds and saplings I bought from Pierre's store yesterday, plant them and carefully water them with my simple gray watering can that I found standing in my tiny garden shed.

Suddenly, I hear someone calling out my name. I turn around to see Marnie looking for me. I quickly wave at her and watch her come closer. She has something in her arms.. something gray and fluffy.
"Hello Sami! I apologize if I'm distracting you from your work, but I found this little fella wandering around the forest near your farm... it seems to be a stray" I look at the little gray and white striped cat she's holding and give her a gentle pat on the back.

"Aww, she's so cute and friendly", I say. Marnie chuckles "I think she likes your farm. I was wondering if you'd like to keep her?" My eyes grow bigger in excitement and I quickly nod my head "Yes! Of course! I love cats!" Marnie laughs and hands the cat to me "I think we need a name for her". I ponder for a few seconds, then suddenly remember my little cat plushie I have on my bed. The cat looks quite similar to it, so I've decided to give them the same name "Mittens".

Marnie smiles "Alright, Mittens. I hope you'll like your new home." Mittens lets out a happy little meow, and I put her back on the floor. She walks around to examine her new home. I'm about to get back to work, when Marnie stops me once more "By the way, if you ever want to purchase some other animals, you can come pay me a visit. I foster a lot of different farm animals, though my nephew Shane mostly takes care of the chickens. Sometimes he gets a little upset when I have to send some of them off to different families." She giggles and waves me goodbye.

So Shane lives with her? And he's her nephew? It's nice to know that he's not as alone as I thought he was. Still, I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to meet him myself. People seem to hate him, but he doesn't seem so scary. He likes chickens! A man who likes chickens really can't be that terrifying, can he? Maybe I'll visit their farm later and see if I can find him there. For now, I really gotta focus on making sure my crops are properly cared for.

After a couple more hours, I finally let myself have a break, it's 4pm now, and I've been busy working hard this entire day. I remember how Marnie suggested I should come pay her a visit, but is that even necessary right now?
I don't have space for farm animals currently, but I guess I can go anyway. I decide to head south to her farm. I stop outside and take a look at all the cows and chickens walking around outside. I can't wait until I've made enough space to make my outside look like this.

I look around to see someone kneeling down next to the fence, playing around with one of the chickens. I slowly walk towards them, and then they suddenly get up. It's Shane. He has a slight grin on his face, but it quickly fades away when he notices my presence. He clears his throat and looks away.

"You live here, right? You have quite a lot of animals! Marnie said I can adopt a few once I have enough space on my farm." I try to spark a conversation. "I don't know you. Why are you talking to me?" is his only response. He never once turns around to look at me. "Well.. I.. thought I should introduce myself.. since we're technically neighbors now. I'm Sami." I smile at him, hoping that he'd warm up to me.
"And I'm busy", he says, and turns around. I watch him as he enters the building, never once glancing back at me.

I stand there, somewhat shocked. My friends tried to warn me, but I guess I hoped for something different to happen. I shouldn't be hurt. I've gotten so used to people constantly rejecting me, ignoring me and being extremely rude. That's just the norm when you live in the city. I just hoped that townspeople would be different. Since everyone is so close together, I assumed everyone would be welcoming and friendly, but I guess that isn't the case.

It makes sense, though. It would be weird if everyone had the exact same personality. I realize that I was so scared of people having certain expectations for me, and stereotyping me to be the typical city girl, when I'm doing the exact same thing to them. I shouldn't try to imagine people to be a certain way only because they're from a different place than I am. I shouldn't judge anyone regardless of where they are from, if I'm scared of people doing the same to me. I don't want to be a hypocrite.

I shake my head and decide to simply walk back to my farm to continue with my work. If I find enough material to build a coop or a barn, I can adopt a couple animals. I'm sure that will make my life on this farm a little more exciting. Maybe I've even axed down enough trees already to bring the wood to Robin. I think I have.

I decide to head up to the mountains after another hour to visit the carpenter shop, this time, without Sam. I see why he was so exhausted last time. Now that I have nothing else to focus on except walking, my legs are starting to feel a bit wobbly. I try to take in as much of the scenery as I possibly can to distract myself, and arrive at Robin's faster than I expected.

As I enter the house, I hear the sound of a little bell ringing, and Robin heads towards the counter. "Sami! Finally you've decided to check out my shop. What can I do for you?" I ask her about building a coop on my farm. We spend a lot of time discussing it thoroughly, then finally make a deal. "Okay. I'm going to start building your coop right away tomorrow morning!" I smile and wave at her, then head out.

I expect the sunlight to greet me again, but instead, what I see is the dark blue sky, filled with stars and just a couple of clouds. Was I really talking with Robin for that long? It's already dark now? I can't remember where to go back home. It's so dark, I can't see any of the plants or trees I used to pinpoint my location. I decide to follow the path and head east.

After a couple of minutes, I see a lake shimmering in the moonlight in the distance, with a couple of trees surrounding it. Under one of them, I notice the outline of a person. It's very hard to see them. Everything is completely black. I'm lost anyway, maybe they can help me find my way back home. I approach them, and after examining them a bit more, I realize it's Sebastian.

I decide to sit down next to him, leaving a little bit of space between us. He glances at me for a second, then back out at the lake. "I'm sorry, I kind of got lost", I explain. He doesn't reply. I wait for him to say something, but he seems to be lost in his thoughts. "Am I annoying you?", I ask him. He doesn't react at first. I prepare myself to simply get up and leave, but before I can do that, he suddenly opens his mouth and speaks

"I was thinking...", he says quietly.
I sit back down and look at him
"...People are like stones skipping over the water. Eventually..." he grabs a little pebble and throws it across the lake. "... we sink", he says, as the stone stops and sinks down to the very bottom.

"I like sitting here when it's dark. I finally have time all alone. Just to think.. no one nagging me.. no one pressuring me." He says, and I notice that I'm probably invading his personal space by being here right now "I- I can leave if you want."
"No", he replies. "Take a look at the lake. See how it's glittering." I do as he says. "It's pretty. I never really got to see something like this much."

I turn around to look at him, only to see that he's already looking at me from the corner of his eye. "You seem different.", he suddenly states. I look at him confused "what.. exactly do you mean?".  "Everyone else talks so much. They pressure me to talk too. It's annoying."
I fidget with my fingers, trying to figure out what to say to him "Because they want to make you feel included. I never had anyone to talk to when I lived in the city. I was always left alone. I guess they just don't want you to feel left out." He scoffs "but that's what I want.", he says, and I look away.

I truly don't believe he really wants this. Why would he? He's talking to me right now even though he said he wants to be alone. He told me to stay when I asked if I should leave. He doesn't want to be alone. Or does he? "You said you got lost?" He asks and I nod my head.

"I'm sure Maru is still awake. Go ask her to bring you home."