Line Without a Hook: Stardew Valley & Shane story

Chapter 10

The next day brought an abundance of rain. What a dreary way to start the day. On the bright side, I wouldn't have to water the plants. 

I walked outside down to my coop and checked in on my two chickens. They were nestled together as I quietly walked in. They separated and greeted me with high pitched clucking. It was truly an adorable sight to have chickens greet you and actually sound excited at the site of you. I crouched down to their height and gave one of them a soft pet on the back. I still hadn't named them, which made me quite disappointed in myself. I decided to name one Truly and the other Jiki. It felt like I had a randomizer in my brain and chose the first thing that came up. I collected the couple eggs from Jiki and Truly and began to make headway back to my cottage.

 Once inside, I dried off and debated what I should do with the eggs. I used to be vegan back in the city, but all that changed once I came here. I decided to give up on that and really immerse myself in the farm life. It had been quite challenging but I was almost a month in. I felt quite accomplished in myself for running an entire farm by myself. It hadn't been much of a life changing experience so far, but I held onto hope that my life would change soon.

After a bit of thinking, I decided to head to Pierre's and sell the eggs. He would buy them off me for a good price I'm sure. Even if it wasn't a decent price, I'd have the eggs off my hands. It wasn't that I didn't want the eggs, but just the thought of eating them from my chickens made my stomach churn. I grabbed a basket from my closet and placed the couple eggs in a small blanket.

As I began to see Pierre's store in the distance, I realized that Shane heads to work around this time. I began to walk a bit slower as the chances of running into him at this time were pretty high. I held my basket closer to my body as the rain began to pick up. I had completely forgotten an umbrella. However, walking through this rain just to see Shane seemed to be worth it. I approached the store front and stood underneath the small balcony overhang to shelter myself. I looked at my watch and saw it was already 8:50 am. Shane should be passing through here by now. I looked to my left and saw no one in sight. Maybe Shane wasn't working today.

I decided to quit waiting for Shane and go inside. Waiting out in the rain for some guy was really dumb to do when all we would do is grumble at each other. I greeted Pierre as I walked into his store, scuffing my feet on the rug. 

"Come on in Emma, what do you have for me today?" Pierre greeted, waving me in. 

"I have a couple eggs for you today. I was hoping you could buy them off me." I said, placing the small basket on his counter. I opened the small blanket and reveled two white eggs that were still intact. 

Pierre's eyes widened. "These are large eggs! I can sell them to you for 95 g each. Does that sound fair?" He asked while calculating on his register. I nodded my head in agreement. It sounded like a great price when I wasn't expecting much. 

"Thank you so much Pierre!" I exclaimed, grabbing my small basket. I began to leave when I turned around. "Hey, you didn't happen to see Shane pass by here did you?" I questioned sheepishly. 

Pierre shook his head. "No actually. He normally works Thursday's doesn't he?"

"Yea... well, thanks anyway. And thanks again for buying the eggs!" I waved him off and exited the store back into the rain. 

Now... where was I to go. I asked myself if I should check Marnie's to see if Shane was there or if I should go back to my farm. Looking up at the rain, I decided to head back to my farm. It was a dull day anyway. 

On my way back, I saw a small orange cat cross in front of my path. I stopped in my tracks and began to listen for rustling in the bushes. I tip toed over to where I saw it run into and cautiously looked. I heard a tiny 'meow' and saw the orange fur beneath a bush. "Hi there." I greeted, reaching out my hand for it to sniff. The cat slowly began to move out from under the bush and sat in front of me. I reached out my hand again for it to sniff. It moved its head up and nudged against my finger. "I think I found a new friend." I picked up the orange cat and placed it in my basket, covering the blanket over its body. I began to jog back to the farm, wanting to get out of the rain. 

I decided to check my mail before I went back inside. It had been almost a week since I checked so it was long overdue. My hand reached inside the mailbox and pulled out two letters. Well, it was certainly less than what I was expecting. 

As my cottage door opened, the cat jumped out of the basket and ran in front of my roaring fireplace. I smiled as it curled up into a tiny ball. It certainly had made itself at home. I hung the basket on the door handle and walked to my couch to open my two letters. The first one was the invitation for the flower dance. That was quite uneventful to open. The second one had my name written on it in tiny letters. 

I opened the letter and began to read it:

I found this recipe in a magazine and I thought it sounded interesting. Feel free to give me a taste if you make it. hehe.
- Shane

Attached to the letter was a magazine clipping for Pepper Poppers. I squealed at the tiny "hehe" he added at the end of the letter. It made it that much cuter. At least I had the recipe now to make Pepper Poppers instead of relying on myself to buy them from the saloon. 

Was this a sign that Shane wanted me to make him this? Toying with that thought, I shot up from my seated position and ran to my fridge. I noticed it was completely empty except for some bottled water. I realized I had to go back to Pierre's if I wanted to make these. I was determined to make them for Shane and deliver it to him today. Maybe he was at home sick and that is why he wasn't on his way to work.

I kissed the cat on the head goodbye and ran off to Pierre's shop once again.