Roses and Sonatas [Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns]

Chapter 3

My second morning in Bluebell began with a feeling of déjà vu, waking to someone knocking on my door followed by Jessica letting herself in. "Good morning, Alice. Time to rise and shine! Can you step outside for a few minutes? I have something for you."

I stifled a yawn and replied, "Sure, just give me a minute to throw on some clothes." She nodded and stepped back out as I threw the covers off. 'I have got to get an alarm clock,' I thought as I scrambled out of bed, 'and a lock on that door!' I hastily made my bed, threw on some clothes and my boots, and hurried outside.

I found Jessica waiting for me over by my barn. I walked over to her, and she turned and smiled as I approached. "When your grandma died," she said as she led me into the barn, "she had very little in the way of livestock. She was getting up there in years, you know, and she really wasn't up to the work involved. So she kept just one cow for milk and one hen for eggs. After she passed, I took them in to care for them while the details of her estate were settled. When we learned that her will named you as her sole heir, they became yours along with the rest of her property. So now that you've taken possession of the farm, I'm returning them to you. They're getting up there in years, but if you take good care of them, they should be around for a few more years. And of course, I can sell you more animals. Oh, and I also offer reproductive services—I care for the animals while they're impregnated and for the duration of their gestation, then return them and their offspring once they've given birth. So you might keep that in mind. Anyway, this here's your cow. Nellie called her Bonnie, but of course you can call her whatever you like."

I looked at the large, placid Holstein and replied, "Bonnie's a good name. I'll stick with that."

"Fine," Jessica said. "The grass here is good for grazing, so you shouldn't need to supply her with any other feed unless she's stuck in the barn due to bad weather. As you probably noticed, Cheryl sells feed in her little shop. Now if you'll just follow me...." she said, leading me out of the barn and over to the coop. We stepped into the spacious building, and I saw a white hen snug in one of the nesting boxes, "This is Penny, but again, you can call her whatever you'd like."

"I'll keep that the same, as well," I replied.

She nodded, and said, "Don't forget to put your animals back in the barn at night. Even summer nights can get surprisingly chilly here in the mountains. If you leave them out, they may get stressed or sick, and your hen won't lay."

"Got it, thanks," I said, gratefully. "I appreciate your caring for them all this time."

"No problem at all, always happy to help a neighbor," she replied with a smile. "Oh, and before I forget...." she dug into her knapsack and rummaged around. She pulled out a few tools and handed them over to me. "These were Nellie's as well: a brush to groom your livestock and a milker for your cows. The tools needed some maintenance, so I took them home along with the animals and had Ash fix them up for you. He's a very handy with tools and repairs as well as with animals. He's a big help around the farm, let me tell you!" she said smiling fondly at the thought of her son. "Well, I'll be off now. Take good care of your animals!" And with that, she departed.

I caught Penny and took her out into the hen yard, where she immediately started scratching around, looking for insects. Then I headed over to the barn and led Bonnie out into the pasture where I milked her before turning her loose to graze. I looked at the milk and thought to myself, 'This is the very first thing I have produced from my very own farm. It may not be much, but it's a start!' I felt intensely satisfied as I carried it over to the shipping bin to sell it at market, before heading out to greet my new neighbors.

I went around the village a little more quickly this time, stopping to chat for a few minutes with everyone. So far, my early impressions of my peers were very favorable. Ash was warm and friendly, Laney was sweet, and Georgia was lively. Cam was the only one I wasn't sure about, mainly because I'd been too mesmerized at the time to talk much with him. However, when I reached the flower shop, I was disappointed to see it was closed that day. There was no sign of Cam anywhere in town, and I felt oddly deflated by his absence.

Next I checked the village bulletin board just outside the town hall, and I found a couple of requests pinned up there for simple jobs, such as gathering herbs or wildflowers, that I thought I'd be able to fill. I couldn't do much farming until I'd earned some money for repairs and more livestock and poultry, so while these little requests didn't pay much, it was still better than nothing.

I returned to my farm, and since I didn't know if I'd be back before dark, I went ahead and put my cow and chicken away for the night. Then I saddled up Lady and headed out of the village towards the mountain path.

I headed up the trail, stopping here and there to gather flowers or herbs or mushrooms or anything else that looked like I could sell or use. By the time I reached the mountain peak, the sun was getting low in the sky. I paused at the peak, admiring the view and trying to decide whether to turn back or to go on. Thinking that as the sky was clear and the moon was approaching full, I decided that there would be plenty of light to ride in the dark. I turned Lady towards the path to Konohana, and we continued on down the far side, foraging as we went while the light remained.

We reached the Konohana gates shortly before sunset. I dismounted and led Lady along the path into town, admiring the architecture and gardens as I walked. While Bluebell had the feel of a west European town, perhaps somewhere in France or Germany or Switzerland, Konohana felt more like some little Asian village.

As I walked along the road through town, I saw a man coming out of a barn and stopped. He spotted me and headed over towards the fence, so I stopped and waited. He was tall, muscular, and ruggedly handsome, with tattooed arms and thick dark hair pulled into an untidy ponytail. "Hey, new around here?" he asked.

"Yes, I just moved to Bluebell, though I may move here at some point. I inherited farms in both towns."

"Oh, so you must be Alice, then. Katya's granddaughter, right? She was a great ol' gal. Good with horses as well as crops. I didn't know she had family until Ina mentioned she'd left her farm to you. I'm Kana, by the way. I run the pet store here."

"Yes, I'm Alice. It's nice to meet you. So you like horses?"

"Aww, man, yeah! Horses are the best, aren't they?" he replied with a grin. "I have a few to sell or lease, as well as my own mare, Hayate. You've got yourself a nice little pony there, I see. But if you ever decide you want a larger, stronger horse, come see me! I'll get you set up!"

"Thanks, Kana, I'll keep that in mind. I'll see you around!" I said with a smile, turning to head on along the road.

I continued on, meeting a shy Japanese girl named Nori and her grandpa, Gombe, as well as bumping into Ina and her son, Rahi, at the message board. Peering intently at my face, Ina suggested I stop by the clinic and ask Dr. Ayame to have a look at my injuries, to be sure I was healing okay. I took her advice and stopped in just as the doctor was preparing to close the clinic, but she cheerfully agreed to take a look. A young man hovering behind the front desk sat back down and pulled out some forms for me to fill in. He looked like he was still in high school, so I was surprised when she introduced him as her intern, Hiro. When I was finished with the paperwork, he cheerfully showed me back to an exam room and checked my vital signs, chattering on in a friendly manner all the while. Dr. Ayame came in as he was finishing and glanced over his notes. She looked me over, checked a few of the more tender spots, examined my eyes closely, and pronounced me fit as a fiddle. I thanked them both and left, feeling relieved that no lasting harm had been done.

On my way back out of town, I waved to Kana as he passed by on his way into town, and just outside the town gate, I greeted a pretty but preoccupied young woman coming down the path, who distractedly introduced herself as Reina. I continued on the path home, going slowly and carefully in the moonlight, and I arrived home shortly before midnight. I tended to Lady, took a quick shower, and heated up the last of the milk from Jessica. Then I climbed into bed, and sat sipping the hot milk as I flipped through a book on old Swedish folk tales. I soon fell asleep with the book still open next to me, worn out from the day's activities.