Chapter Text
The smell of earth surrounded Chloe Woods and she could only partially listen in on Lewis and Robin’s conversation. It would have been a peaceful moment if she couldn’t smell those damn wild onions. Her belly rumbled and she salivated at the aroma. She would give anything for access to an all-you-can-eat buffet, instead she chewed on her lip and planned her next meal.
Robin’s laughter snapped Chloe back to reality and she smiled half-heartedly at the woman. If they could see where she used to call home, they wouldn’t be joking about the condition of the cabin. A cabin that was Chloe’s salvation.
It was surreal gazing upon her grandfather’s old home. Woods’ Farm was carved into ornate letters above the door’s frame. The wooden porch still looked fairly sturdy, with firewood resting at the side of the cabin. Old, rotten, and useless probably. Thankfully it was spring and she’d have plenty of time to worry about managing the fireplace. The cabin’s red door was in need of a fresh coat of paint, but Chloe hardly cared how pretty the door was as long as it could shut behind her and shield her from the rest of the world.
She thanked the two before starting up the steps with her suitcase in hand.
“Oh- let me help ya there, Miss Chloe.” Lewis chimed in.
Before Chloe could even think to protest, the bag was gently taken from her hands. The old Mayor opened her door then nodded. Chloe supposed that meant, ‘ladies first.’ Not really a concept she’d ever been privy to in the city.
“Thank you, Lewis.” Chloe smiled and raked dull, oily brown hair out of her face. She chewed on the raw skin of her bottom lip and took in her surroundings.
“Pierre’s is open today- well every day except Wednesdays. Ya might visit if you need anything before the rest of your stuff gets in.” Lewis eyed the single bag and looked back at her with a friendly grin.
“That’d be good. Thank you,” Chloe lied. The bag was it. All of it. The only belongings she had in the world. That and whatever was inside of the old house. She was certain that included critters if tiny droppings by the rusty fridge were to indicate anything.
Chloe gave another rigid smile as Lewis made his way to the exit. When the door opened, there was that smell again, crashing into her and bringing with it another reminder of her stomach’s emptiness.
Before Chloe could say ‘goodbye’, Lewis turned back to her, snapping his finger. “Shoot, almost forgot.” He pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket. “Here’s something to help get you started. Parsnips. They’re pretty easy to grow from what I understand.”
Chloe’s brow furrowed for a moment before she realized he was handing her seeds, and she was, supposedly, a farmer. “Oh- oh! Yes, uh- thank you. I appreciate it.” She extended her hand and took the seeds from him.
After saying their goodbyes, Chloe watched out the window as Lewis’ form got smaller and smaller. When she was sure he wouldn’t return, she took a deep breath and sighed. Throwing the parsnip seeds on the kitchen counter, she hurried to the sink and turned on the water. The faucet gurgled until brown water finally gushed into the sink and down the drain.
“Shit.” Chloe hissed. Should have known.
She left the water running while she searched the contents of her suitcase. Chloe shuffled through her clothing until she found it, an envelope stuffed full of cash. She stared hard at the money, hating herself for how she’d acquired it. It didn’t matter now though. It was there. It was there and she was hungry. No, she was starving.
Chloe’s eyes wandered back to the running water. It was clearer now. Not perfect, but it didn’t look like swamp water anymore at least. Her tired sea green eyes turned back to the dirty money. For a moment she felt a vice grip tighten, pinching her chest so hard she couldn’t breathe.
Suck it up, you dumbass.
She shook her head, grabbed the money, and turned the water off all before going back outside again. And there was that damned smell.
-
Joja Mart, at its best, was a place of convenience. Food was affordable and it had about anything you could think to buy. At its worst? Well, Chloe was a testament to Joja Mart at its worst.
Until the day before traveling to Stardew Valley, Chloe had been a hard-working employee. She always at work on time, and always doing as she was told. In return, Joja Mart provided her barely enough money for shelter and food. Emergencies were off the table, and living paycheck to paycheck wasn’t exactly living.
That’s why stepping into the damned store for food was like a slap in the face. But she was sure there was no way she could afford anything from Pierre's. Local shops weren’t exactly ‘poor friendly’.
Chloe maneuvered her buggy through the aisles, tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and belly growling. Cereal, bread, milk… Her mental checklist was cut short when her cart crashed into something. When she snapped her head forward she was mortified to see she’d run straight into a Joja Mart worker. He gave her an irritated look, and she couldn’t say she blamed him.
“I’m so, so sorry.” Chloe shrunk in on herself.
The worker, ‘Shane’ according to his name tag, simply huffed and turned back to his work stocking the shelf.
The rest of her grocery shopping was done in haste.
-
The walk back to her new home was the longest she’d ever made. Her hunger was now more than just an annoying ache, but a sharp pain. She longed for her stomach to be sufficiently filled, and let her hand rest on her belly. The way she’d taken was supposedly a short-cut, but now she was beginning to wonder. It didn’t help that she was expending all of her energy walking up a steep hill.
Her quiet walk came to a halt as she came face to face with an old man who looked as though he’d come from the wild. The man was foraging berries, stuffing the ripened fruit into an old tattered Joja Mart bag, one of those cloth bags from when it was trendy to bring your own bag to the store. Trendy, but not quite convenient enough for shoppers who soon abandoned the fad.
Chloe’s eyes darted away from him before she realized it was rude. Slowly looking back, she nodded at the white haired man and made her way on up the hill. His home finally came into view. A tent. Chloe sighed, at least he has berries .
She grit her teeth and walked on, not daring to look back his way. If she looked back, she’d give up her only food.
-
Finally, back in the security of her home, Chloe didn’t even wait to put up the food before opening up a package of hotdogs and scarfing a couple down. After at least something was in her belly, she put away the rest of her food, rinsed off a dusty plate and pulled out a couple more hotdogs. Chloe inspected the brown microwave, truly a blast from the past. She turned its knobs and held her breath. By some miracle, the ancient device worked. Chloe placed the hotdogs on grandpa’s apple print plate to heat up the rest of her meal.
She turned back to the kitchen sink and let the water run yet again. Still not crystal clear, but it would have to do. Her lips touched the stream of water and she gulped as hard as she could. Chloe’s throat thanked her, finally feeling soothed. Her chapped lips, on the other hand, stung at first contact. She drank without a thought and only pulled up when she heard a dissonant buzzing that indicated her hotdogs were sufficiently nuked.
Chloe stood up and liquid sloshed in her full belly. She felt the rolling in her stomach and groaned. “I’m such an idiot.” She felt as though she actually needed to hear the words, or else she might repeat such a mistake. Not that it’d been her first mistake, and it certainly wouldn’t be her last.
Her first night at Woods’ Farm wasn’t a red letter one, but she was full, and she was warm, and she had a door. It was enough.