The sunlight peeked through the sheer curtains, slowly waking me up. A soft knock on my door jolted me awake, shaking the sleep out of me instantly.
Who would be up at this hour?
I shuffled towards the door, opening it just a crack to peek at who it was. It was Marnie, smiling happily at me.
"Please give me a second."
"Sure, darling."
I closed the door and undid the latch, opening it again to properly greet Marnie...... and a cat?
"I found it sitting outside the entrance to your farm! I think it's a stray... poor thing."
I looked down and met the playful gaze of the cat. Its tail swished side to side as it stared longingly for acceptance.
"Ahem. Sure, I don't see why not."
Marnie clapped in excitement as she ushered the cat closer to me. Purring loudly, the cat rubbed against my legs.
"What are you gonna name it?" I met Marnie's gaze.
"I haven't decided yet."
I don't think I ever will.
"Well, you do have time." She bent over to pet the cat's head, "It's time for me to head back to my place. But do come over for a chat sometime!"
I gave her a wave off as she made her way back, stumbling on a few stray sticks and bushes. I looked down once more at the cat, staring back at those yellow-ish eyes. She looked more like a witch's cat. I went back inside to change clothes and start the day.
The cat seemed to follow me as I hauled around the heavy watering can. It followed me inside as I washed my face of dirt and kept following me as I made my way to the town.
"No. Stay." I held out a hand to stop it in its tracks
Meow~
It protested. Purring loudly as it rubbed against my hand, I could tell it wanted to stick with me.
"Stay. I'll be back this evening."
Meow? It tilted its head as if questioning what I said.
Keeping an eye on it, I walked backward to the town until I was out of its sights.
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The mines called for my attention as I steadily held my pickaxe over my shoulder. It would seem the giant rock wasn't there anymore. Heading on in, a man with white hair and an eyepatch loomed over a hole with a ladder.
"I was just peering down into this old mineshaft."
"Is it safe?" I leaned against my pickaxe as I looked in with him.
"Dunno. It's been abandoned for decades."
'Decades?' I gave him a confused look, 'Pretty sure the last time I visited the caves were 10 years ago.'
"Here," he handed me a rusty sword, "Who knows what'll be down there after all this time."
He left the cave.
"Should be just bats. Nothing more." Starting my descent down the ladder, my body seemed to be engulfed by the darkness and came out feeling different.
"If I remembered correctly, the way to go deeper into the cave is finding ladders."
As if luck was on my side, a ladder revealed itself after I smashed the second rock. Then ladders kept appearing more often.
Blob
What was that? A springy sound echoed through the cave. I clutched the rusty sword held by a rope I had found earlier.
Blob. Blob.
The sound was closer with every boing. Unsheathing it, I readied the blade towards the sound. Rounding the corner, a small, green blob with eyes stared at me. I lowered my blade, taken aback at this weird thing.
It bounced towards me, before stopping to look up at me. Is it harmless? I reached down to "pet" it. Seeing the opportunity, it bounced for my body, knocking me back. It stung more than usual, as if I was burning up. Acid?
Okay, not friendly. I swung my sword at it. I gasp in surprise as I see it unharmed and charging at me. I swung once again, seeing my sword go through its form. Swinging once more, I see its form losing its shape. With the final blow, it scattered into little pieces and quickly disolved.
Looking down, I see my shirt intact. So why was it feel like it was burning off? Descending down the ladder, I encountered more of the slimes along with some ores.
"This isn't too bad. Even if I never encountered any slimes 10 years ago, I can still hold my ground." I reassured myself.
A soft buzz stopped me from breaking anymore rocks. Seeing an alarm go off, I made my way up the ladder. The view of fireflys calmed me as I stepped out of the caves and walked back towards the farm. Seeing a familiar figure, I walked over to him.
"Uncle Li," he turned his gaze away from the lake, "how are you doing?"
He smiled before looking back to the lake. "Just enjoying nature, Little One."
He took notice of my pickaxe and my sword. "Back to the caves? I heard there were some creatures in there."
"I've got the memo."
"Be careful. I dread for the day I'll have to pull you out of the caves." His eyebrows furrowed.
"I won't worry you, Uncli Li." I reached around to grab the first item I had saved for him. A leek. "I saved you something." Handing it to him, he took it with gratitude.
"I kinda ate some to keep my energy up, ya know?"
"It's great. I'll mix it with the other ingredients."
A moment of silence as my mind rambled through thoughts today. "Can I ask you a question, Uncle Li?"
"Go ahead, Little One."
For some reason, I felt nervous to ask him. What was I scared of? Spit it out already.
"This man, he told me the mines were abandoned for decades. But the last time I visited was 10 years ago." I looked down at my reflection in the lake.
Uncle Li gave me a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
"I'm sure he was only kidding. Even if he was serious, time has a different grip on other people."
We bid our farewells after chatting and went to the direction of our homes. A wave of déjà vu washed over me as another familiar figure stood on the bank of the lake. Knowing his name now, I walked over to Sebastian, making sure my footsteps are heard.
He turned his head to look at me then turned his attention back to the lake.
"Shouldn't be out this late, Farmer."
"Just had a little talk with someone." I turned towards him, "The same goes for you, shouldn't be out this late."
He took a drag from his cigarette and blew smoke into the air. A sudden urge started to crawl back up as I looked on at the cigarette. He took notice of my staring and offered me one.
"No. Not anymore." I held a hand up to refuse.
"Oh. Why not, if I'm not prying."
Again, I felt nervous. Nervous to tell him my answer. Scared seemed more like the answer. Scared that the memories would come back and remind me of what I failed to do. Just give him a simple answer. No details.
"I wanted to live for someone."
