Line Without a Hook: Stardew Valley & Shane story

Chapter 5

A couple weeks had passed since my encounter with Shane. I had not seen him since.

It was now Spring 18th. I wasn't particularly fond of Spring, given the amount of pollen that floated through the air, activating my many seasonal allergies. It's ironic I have seasonal allergies given I work outside all day. 

In these past two weeks I had learned the importance of fishing, mining and farming itself. I had sold a few crops to Pierre's and made some gold off of it surprisingly. I had also met all of the town. I had even given some villagers gifts on their birthdays. I felt so accomplished within myself. I was actually feeling happy. A feeling I hadn't felt in so long. I thought it was impossible to feel such positivity again. I wasn't going to let Shane ruin my experience here. 

It was a bright and Spring filled day. I was currently fishing at the beach with the new bait I had just bought off of Willy. Fishing was something I could never envision myself doing, but here I was. I felt a tug on my pole and pulled in an anchovy. I placed the fish in my now full bucket and walked over to Willy's place to sell them.

"Hey Willy!" I greeted, opening the door with my hip. Willy looked up from his notepad and warmly smiled. "Ahoy there farmer Emma. Catch any big ones today?"

"Not today, but I have quite a few anchovies for you." I said, setting the bucket on the counter. He fished through the bucket and estimated a cost for what he could sell them to me for. 

"Oh! I also brought you this." I said, grabbing out cut up catfish from my backpack. "I figure you would like this for dinner some night this week." Willy raised his eyebrows and immediately grabbed the bag. "Thanks much farmer! This is great." 

After leaving Willy's place, I made it a goal to buy some chickens from Marnie's Ranch today. Robin had built a chicken coop on my farm yesterday and I thought it was time to take care of something other than myself. The nurse in me was eager to do so. I made my way to Cindersnap Forest in anticipation to get my own chickens. 

As I opened the door to Marnie's Ranch, Jas exited the building. She ran right into my chest, slightly knocking me over. Jas was young but had a strong stature. However she herself fell over. "Whoa there." I said smiling. Jas looked me over and stared at my face without saying anything. "Sorry about that." I apologized, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it and stood up, wiping her dress off. She silently giggled and ran in the direction of town. Jas was such a sweet girl but I could tell it might take a bit for her to warm up to me. I was a stranger after all.

Marnie was standing behind a small counter when I entered. "Emma! Welcome to my ranch! I was hoping you would stop by soon." She exclaimed, coming around the counter to hug me. I barely knew Marnie but she was one of the sweetest women I had met. "What brings you here today? Thinking about buyin' some animals?" 

"Yes, actually. I was thinking of buying a couple chickens for my new coop." I said, hugging her back. She ended our embrace and she went back behind the counter. "I love animals Ms. Emma. If you treat yours well I'm sure we'll become great friends!" 

I placed my hands in my pockets and took out my coins. "How much will it be for two chickens?" She calculated on her register two chickens for the price of 1600g. I gave her the money and thanked her for the chickens. 

"Let me bring you out back to the coop so you are able to pick out your chickens." Marnie said, motioning me to follow her. I followed Marnie and noticed a door I passed slightly cracked. I was sort of curious, so I slowly walked by, peeking my head in. There he was. Shane. Sitting on his bed. I didn't stare long enough to notice what he was doing, but my heart beat began to pick up. Shane lived with Marnie? I noticed Marnie was well ahead of me so I picked up my pace and trailed behind her.

I was curious, so I decided to ask Marnie about the Shane situation. "Marnie, does Shane live with you?" Marnie stopped slightly in her tracks and turned toward me. "Yes, he is my nephew. He has lived with me the past few months." She walked closer to me and put her head down. "Unfortunately he has been quite a bit more withdrawn the past couple weeks. I'm not sure what happened." She paused for a moment before lighting up. "Let me go get you two acquainted!"

Fear ran through my body as she said those words. I had decided that I did not want to encounter Shane again after what happened. But living in this small town, I had yet to realize that I was going to run into him again no matter what I did. 

Marnie completely forgot about the chickens as she led me back into her ranch. "Shane?" She called out, walking toward his bedroom. "Yea, Marnie?" He called out in response. Marnie stopped where she was. "Come out here. I want you to meet someone." Shane replied in silence. I heard a door creek with the sound of footsteps. I hid behind Marnie as he approached. 

I peaked my head over Marnie's shoulder and saw him staring right into me. "Hi." I squeaked out. Marnie giggled and moved out of my vision. "This is Emma. She is the new farmer in town."

"We've met." Shane and I said at the same time. 

My face began to turn beet red as I looked down at my boots. I could see Shane's feet in my field of vision. They began to walk away. Marnie called after him but he didn't respond. It was at that moment that I began to dislike Shane. Strongly dislike. It felt almost insulting that he would be so uninterested in getting to know me. Granted, I wouldn't want to get to know me but I was hoping selfishly that everyone in town would like me. I guess I would just have to try harder to get his attention one way or another. 

"What happened?" Marnie questioned, looking back and forth between me and where her nephew was standing. I placed my hands on my neck and sighed. "We met a couple weeks ago. He doesn't seem to like me much." Marnie looked at me with remorse. "Don't worry about Shane. He really is a wonderful and caring guy. He has just been through a lot recently."

Shane? Wonderful and caring? I let out a small laugh and immediately hid it. "Well, I will try my best to remain nice to him." 

Marnie thought about a response before speaking. Her face lit up again. "Shane's birthday is this coming Friday. Maybe bringing him a gift would lift his spirits."

"What does he like?" I questioned out loud, wondering if he even liked anything at all. 

"He is sort of picky, but he likes peppers, pizza and beer. I'm trying to not encourage the latter." Marnie said with a sorrowful look. I assumed Shane drank too much and Marnie was just a mother figure trying to look after him. 

"Thank you for the ideas, Marnie. I will have to find something he likes." I said, giving her an embrace. She returned the hug and looked at my face. "Now let's get you those chickens so we can get you home."