Through the Grapevine (Claire x Cliff)

Say Hello

It was Claire's moving day and she could not believe that she had moved away from the city to take over her grandfather's farm. That barren piece of land seemed hopeless, but it was her fond memories of the place that committed her to such a big responsibility. It was absolutely intimidating for a girl who just turned twenty-something, but it was worth a shot.

As she unpacked her luggage and tucked away her clothes on her bedside drawer, she thought of what she should do on her first day in Mineral Town. She remembered Mayor Thomas advising her to come meet the townspeople, so that's exactly what she plans to do, and maybe get started with tidying up the farm afterwards.

Before she left for town, she let her curiosity take her into the nearby spring, where she met Ran, the innkeeper's daughter, and Popuri who is cute and sweet and a little childish. Both of them were friendly, especially Popuri who even offered to show Claire around town.

They moved from one store to another, starting from Popoultry to the Forge, then to the Inn and the General Store, and even to say 'Hi' to Zack at Mineral Beach. But Popuri had to leave for an errand, so Claire was left to explore the rest of the town on her own.

She heard a church bell ring and followed the sound to north of Rose Plaza, and soon enough she found herself peeking inside the Church. Carter quickly noticed the young girl as she entered and told her to introduce herself. She also noticed a young man sitting on the front row, looking down on his palms as if he did something awful. She carefully approached him and said hi, her bright expression balancing his gloom.

"Hey, you okay?" Claire asked the lad.

"Ah... Hello..." He replied very shyly. "I-I'm fine. Can I help you?"

"Oh, no, I just came to introduce myself. I took over that farm at the edge of town, and today is my first day here. My name is Claire, and you are?"

"Huh, so you just moved to that farm. Hm? My name? I'm Cliff. Nice to meet you."

"It's nice meeting you, too. I'm sorry but I have to go. I still have a lot of folks I haven't met. See you around, Cliff!" 

Claire waved at him with the same bright smile on her face before saying goodbye to Carter too and leaving the Church. Cliff's eyes followed her, then sighed and went back to whatever it was that was occupying him.

Claire went back to the farm with some seeds she got from the General Store. While she weeded out the field, she thought about her impressions on the people she met today. Thankfully, the townspeople were nice and she was able to easily befriend some of them, especially the girls -- Popuri who showed her around, Karen who gave her grass seedlings for free, and Jennifer who is easygoing -- and the guys -- Popuri's brother, Rick, Gray who was a bit of a snob at first, and Cliff who seem like he really doesn't talk much. She wished she gets to know them more and hoped she won't feel like an outcast.

The next day, Claire came by the church to check out the small path she noticed yesterday, which led to a small straw hut that served as the Nature Sprites' home. And like most of the townspeople, they were pretty friendly, too! She was in a good mood after playing a bit with them, and she decided to say hi to Carter while she's in the area.

"Hello, Carter! Today is a lovely day."

"Why, hello Claire. Yes, today's weather is a blessing." Carter nods, and notices Claire's friendly disposition could help out somebody. "Claire, are you acquainted with the young man sitting on the pew over there? His name is Cliff."

Claire looks over her shoulder to look at Cliff, who was there again today on the same state he was in yesterday. She asks Carter what was wrong and he explains that Cliff is having a hard time communicating with people other than the priest himself, so he is requesting she talks to him about anything. When Carter mentions that Cliff came to town all alone just like her, she agrees to take the priest's request and walks over next to the young man.

"Claire... Uh... H-Hello."

"Hey." Claire greets with a bright smile on her face, just like yesterday. She stares at him and waits if he'd be first to open a topic, but it seems unlikely.

"Wh-What is it? Is there... something on my face?"

"No, silly. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, u-um... Well... I..." Cliff continues to stutter and finally finds his words in a minute. "I get so nervous especially when I am alone with someone. I can't talk very well..."

Claire notices how much Cliff fidgets with his fingers as he talks. He couldn't even look at her straight. She takes a seat next to him and smiles softly. "It's okay. Take your time."

"R-Really? Yeah I think I've calmed down now. Thank you, Claire."

"You shouldn't worry about it. I know it's not easy striking up a conversation with someone, but you'll get used to it. You can talk to me whenever you like."

"G-Gotcha. You're nice, Claire." Cliff finally smiles. "Speaking of, didn't you come to town alone to run that farm all by yourself? That's incredible, I can't even imagine myself raising crops or animals."

"Actually, I don't have any experience in raising crops or animals either. It's quite a challenge, but I'm up for it."

"It might be weird for me to say, uh, but I'm sure it's really hard, so... hang in there, okay?"

"Aw, thanks Cliff."

"And, uh... Not to be a bother, but would you mind talking with me again sometime? O-Only if you get a chance, that is. I'm, uh, really bad at talking with people, but if it's you, Claire..." 

Claire feels her cheeks turn a little rosy, and Cliff notices that, too.

"Ahem. Well, be careful on your way home."

Claire couldn't help but feel giddy about having a conversation with Cliff, whom she thought would never speak a word to her, that she just keeps on smiling. Who knew that timid boy could talk so much and keep a conversation going for long? 

She left the Church with both Cliff and Carter smiling at her this time, and it makes her feel good that she somehow blew away that dark cloud over Cliff's head. It was nice seeing a smile instead of that gloomy expression on his face, and it motivated her to work hard on the farm to get to know more about the mysterious people of Mineral Town.