Harvest Moon: Kestrel Village

Chapter Three

So Evil

It was on the second day of Spring when the farming duo began their journey into the hell of physical labor.

Actually, it was Eli’s journey alone.

The young man loosened his grip on the old yet sturdy sickle and wiped a bead of sweat from his burning forehead. The lower part of his back ached, his palm prickled from the friction between his skin and the wooden handle of the farming tool, and his fingers wouldn’t be able to take the task of holding the sickle much longer if Eli kept this up. However, after scanning his work of killing off the numerous weeds on the farmland, it looked as though he hadn’t made much progress since eight o’clock this very morning. In fact, planted stubbornly there in the soil, the gentle breeze blowing by made the weeds wave mockingly at the inexperienced Eli. He felt as though he was being taunted by them. 

Puffing out a brief sigh, Eli pulled at his sticky, light grey t-shirt and tossed it onto the grass away from the field, revealing a stark white tank top underneath. By now, the man appreciated the breeze much more, and he ruffled his hair for a moment before setting himself back to the task. The first few times, Eli had handled the sickle awkwardly enough so that it took several tries to cut down a weed and pull it out. After the first hour passed by, he became a bit more comfortable with the tool. It had a dull blade, and was beginning to rust just along the edge, but there was nothing he could do to fix it up without the proper materials. He wondered how old it was. With each swift awkward cut followed by pulling out the roots, Eli’s mind shifted focus. How prosperous had the previous owner been? What had “Will” been like? Had he started like Eli and his sister, venturing recklessly headfirst into the unknown, or did he know what he was doing from the start?

Cut, pull, and throw it amongst its fellow weed corpses. Cut, pull, throw. Cut, pull, throw. Eli had a bit of a process going and didn’t notice the first bark of a dog that ventured towards him. The domesticated animal waited patiently for another moment before barking once more, louder than the first. It wagged its shaggy tail in a friendly manner and licked its nose before Eli finally took notice of it.

Eli set down the sickle carefully onto the soil and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. Where had the dog come from? He walked a little cautiously towards it and saw it had a bright red collar around its neck, attached to a leash with the handle dragging carelessly on the ground. Perhaps it was lost? 

“Hey…” Eli ducked for a second to see if there was a tag with its name on it. It was a simple tag in a golden color, and stamped upon its surface was the name…

“Sandy! Come,” called out a soft, female voice. 

She clapped her hands twice, but Sandy already obeyed her at the sound of his name. He abruptly turned and ran over towards his owner, panting in approval when she bent down and stroked his soft fur. Tucking a strand of short dark brown hair behind her ear, the mystery woman, in a white flowing shirt and long brown skirt, approached Eli eagerly with a small wrapped package in her arms.

“Are you the new owner of the farm?”

“Yeah… Actually, one of the owners. I’m Eli. My sister Aly is… uh, out right now,” he replied sheepishly. There was something about the woman’s speech that was different than Eli was normally used to hearing, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what the difference was.

Her shy smile widened a little as her brown eyes showed warmth. “My name is Sophie. This is a housewarming gift for the both of you. I heard you moved in yesterday, so I made a little something.” Her speech was slightly altered, with a pause every few words, the pronunciation a bit slow at times.

Sophie handed over the package, which Eli accepted with gratitude and surprise. A housewarming gift? From a pretty stranger? This was something totally new.