Chapter Text
It was way past midnight, and Sam still couldn't fall asleep.
It wasn't because of the new farmer that would be moving in the morning, though that did intrigue him. He just couldn't sleep. Something about the new year, about the eve of the new year. He could tell he was tired, with the way his eyes drooped and his body ached from the day's activities.
But something... something was just keeping him awake.
Finally, he decided it was time to put on the music. His mom always scolded him when he fell asleep with his headphones on, but said son weighed the pros and cons vaguely, and also liked music too much.
It took a while, but finally, his consciousness was drifting away...
The to-be farmer fell asleep during his bus ride. With his nylon jacket, his faded trousers and the small backpack on his lap, you might have never guessed that he was about to move into the countryside.
He hoped he could make a living in the small valley. His only other option was to return to Joja Corporation, and they weren't even likely to take him back.
He could also enlist in the army, but the thought alone made him shudder. At least he had his Grandpa's letter, and his farm. It was almost funny, thinking back to the fiasco that happened in his adolescent years, with his uncles and aunts fighting over their share in the will. He gave his most precious asset to his dearest grandson, who wasn't even legal then.
In hindsight, they would have just sold the land. For him, and undoubtedly his Grandpa too, the farm was more than assets that could be liquidated. It was his chance to leave his old life behind, for something that would bring hope to his life again.
He couldn't help but have all sorts of worries, though. How would he ever fit in with the town? How would he learn how to farm? All he had was a few days of searching up tips on his computer.
How would a city boy like him ever fit into a small countryside community? How did his Grandpa even do that? ...did he do that?
After he dozed off though, those worries seemed too far away.
Sam woke up to his mom nagging at him again. She had taken the headphones off his head for him and was certainly not pleased.
"Mom, I'm sorry, okay? I just couldn't sleep!"
She frowned. The hint of worry in her eyes grew stronger. "Did something keep you up?"
"Not really, I guess..." He scratched the back of his head, feeling annoyed at himself.
She sighed. "If there is something bothering you, I just want you to know that I'm always available to listen, okay?"
"Yeah... Thanks, mom."
She let out a small, tired smile. "I'm cooking pancakes. Help me set the table in ten minutes okay?"
He grumbled a little, but agreed. He looked at the clock and remembered that he had work today too. He made a face and went to wash his face.
The to-be farmer was really going to be a farmer now. Parsnip seeds in hand, with some brief instructions at the back of the packet - oh, and his Grandpa's tools, of course - it dawned on him that he was actually going to do this.
With Robin's guidance he managed to chop down his first tree, and he spent a while clearing a decent patch of land for his first crop.
He set the packet of seeds aside, took out the hoe and began tilling the land. Sweet Yoba, the year working in front of a desk computer at Joja did not do his muscles any favours. A small patch of tilled land later, with all his seeds planted and watered, he lay on the ground and took a deep breath.
The afternoon sun had passed, leaving a pale sky with clouds floating across his vision. It was this view that convinced him, that all of today's efforts were completely worth it.
He was ready to lay there till the sunset, but a giant bug flew into his face and suddenly, he found that his body was full of energy again. He jumped and proceeded to violently swat it away.
The bug entertained itself for a few stressful seconds before deciding the farmer wasn't worth its time and flew into the distance.
The farmer wondered if the general store sold any heavy-duty repellant. He hoped so.
'Well, I suppose it's as good a time as any to introduce myself to the town.'
Sam was already home when there was a knock at the front door.
"Coming!" his mom yelled from the kitchen. She set down the plates she was meaning to wash, slid her gloves out like they were on fire and paced quickly towards the door. By then, Sam was already poking his head out of his room, wondering who it could be.
'Wait,' he thought, 'isn't it going be the new farmer in town?'
"Oh!"
There was a young man standing outside. His jacket was a little dusty, and the bottom of his boots looked faintly crusty with mud, as if it had been hastily cleaned not too long ago. Otherwise, he looked like a regular Zuzu City youngster.
"Good afternoon, miss! I'm the new farmer, I've just been going around town introducing myself."
She smiled and laughed a little. "You certainly aren't what I imagined! I'm Jodi. And you are...?"
"My name's Declan, miss."
She seemed pleased. "I haven't been called miss in a long time. I actually have two sons. Sam! Come here and introduce yourself!"
Sam quickly ducked back into his room when he heard his name being called and then walked out casually. He smiled at the new farmer.
"Hey, I'm Sam. Good to meet you."
"Hey," the farmer greeted him back. It was a little obvious he got distracted by Sam's wild hair, which caused him to sheepishly comb his hair back.
"I know," he said. "It's my natural hair."
"What?" The farmer was shocked. "Really?"
"He got it from his father," Jodi laughed. Then, she said in a hushed voice, "though he does style it with a bit of gel."
"Hey!" He wasn't actually mad, but he did make the new farmer laugh.
"Oh, have you eaten yet? We've got fish casserole today."
"It's the best," Sam vouched his approval.
"It's alright, I'm heading to the Saloon. Though I do want to try it some other time..."
"Well, let me know - or Sam, here - when you want to join us for dinner. It's a quiet little town, so it's very exciting when someone new moves in! Having a farmer around could really change things."
Unfortunately, the general store was already closed. Luckily, the Saloon was not, and slowly introduced himself to everyone there, including a particularly grumpy man who practically shooed him the moment he made himself present.
He got himself a plate of spaghetti and gawked at the price. He could still afford it, but it did break his bank. He was beginning to regret not asking for more funds back home when he heard that gruff voice again, speaking intentionally loudly.
"See, even the new guy thinks it's expensive, Gus. The spaghetti isn't even that good."
"Now you take that back!" It was Pam, who was now considerably drunk, who shouted across the Saloon. "Gus might charge high but the food is damn good!"
"It's alright, thank you Pam." Gus sighed. "I have a business to run, Shane, and it's a quality meal."
He looked to the farmer and apologised. "Tell you what. I'll give you that plate free of charge and you tell me if it's good or not."
The farmer secretly sighed in relief. He looked at Shane, who was not even remotely looking his way, but the farmer swore he saw a small smirk of victory.
The spaghetti was actually incredible. He told Gus, who lit up with pride.
Sam had been practicing the bass guitar for the past three hours with the speakers tuned up as high as he wanted. This was what he loved most about Tuesdays: no work, his mom out of the house for her fitness aerobics, and his little brother had his tutoring with Penny.
In other words, he had the whole house to himself. He started a practice set with the drums, playing for a while before deciding that he was done for the day. It was some time into the afternoon when he decided to take a walk outside.
If there was anything he liked better in the countryside than the city, it was the environment. The air was fresher, and when he looked up into the sky... he found himself entranced by how wide the view was.
There were no high-rises to block the sky, and so many trees around for birds to roost and flock around. He sat down next to the river, gazing up at the sky, down at the river, the sounds of birds chirping and the river gurgling, taking it all in with no expectations of anything.
He didn't even notice the farmer, passing by with a bagful of seeds, saying hi to him. The farmer attempted a few more times, getting closer each time until Sam finally responded and turned around.
"Oh, hey, farmer. Your name was..."
"Declan. Just wanted to say hi."
Sam looked sheepish. "How do you spell..."
The farmer spelled it out for him.
"Oh, okay. Sorry, I'll try to remember it next time."
"Don't worry about it. See you around, Sam."
"See ya."
Seeing the farmer on his merry way, Sam decided it was as good a time as any to go home, with the sun already about to set.
'Oh, crap, it's already evening?'
It was frightening how time passed so quickly with him doing absolutely nothing. And with the work looming over from tomorrow, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Well, at least he had his mom's cooking.
The farmer woke up on Thursday morning to see his first batch of parsnips ready for harvesting. Yesterday, he had planted two bean starters and was proud to say that they were still standing today, and growing slowly.
He harvested his parsnips and placed them neatly in the shipping bin, save for one. It would be the first time he could experience the profits of his own produce, but he didn't want to sell them all. Foraging for daffodils and spring onions did give him enough cash to tide him over for now, so what he really wanted was to eat his own produce.
It did occur to him that he didn't have a kitchen to cook it in, or any of the necessary ingredients or tools. He wondered if Gus would help cook it for him. After tending to the other crops, he went down to the Saloon to find out.
Unfortunately, he forgot that the Saloon only opened at noon. He bought two more bean starters at Pierre's and contemplated his options.
Jodi had technically given him an open invite to dinner. Did this mean that she would let him use her kitchen?
He hoped so, heading over to 1 Willow Lane.
He knocked on the door. It was Jodi again who answered and invited him in.
"So," he started. "I recently harvested a parsnip. I want to cook it, but I don't have a kitchen, you see..."
"You don't have a kitchen?!"
"Yeah... Don't worry, I get by just fine."
Jodi was still shocked. "Just ask Robin, okay? She'll be able to build a whole working kitchen for you."
'For a price...' thought the farmer, sighing internally. "Alright. Anyway, do you want to see the parsnip I grew?"
He looked at his produce like a proud parent.
"It looks good! We haven't had vegetables this fresh before. Looks good for roasting, or we could make it into a soup... Here, I'll help cook it for you."
"Really?"
"Yes, but on one condition. We get to try it too!"
The farmer grinned. "Sounds good."
At that moment, Vincent entered the living room from his brother's room. As he opened the door, the farmer could hear the loud blare of an amp and a few fancy riffs.
Meanwhile, Vincent seemed shocked to see the farmer in the kitchen. He met the stranger once before and didn't exactly expect to see him here.
"Hi mister," he greeted. "Mom, is he joining us for lunch?"
"You could say that, dear. Mister Declan here brought us a fresh parsnip."
"Wow... from the farm?"
The farmer nodded.
"That's so cool! Mister, can I go see your farm someday?"
"Someday," the farmer replied. "It's actually a little overgrown right now..."
Jodi giggled. "I can imagine, after all those years of it sitting there unattended. Alright, you boys can relax and wait a while. I'll get started on lunch... with an added side of parsnip soup!"
Vincent looked a little sceptical, but was interested in the new menu. "At least it's not lentil soup..." he whispered to the farmer, who held back a laugh.
While waiting, he decided to check out the source of the guitar riffs he heard earlier. He knocked on Sam's bedroom before entering.
Sam was practicing on his electric guitar, seeming very engrossed in getting a rhythm pattern right. The farmer raised his eyebrows at the setup he had in his room - a full set of drums and a keyboard and multiple guitars. This guy was really into music.
"Hi, Sam."
His head snapped up immediately, suddenly shocked to see the farmer in his room.
"Oh! Um, hi! ...what are you doing here?"
The farmer was amused. "Seems like I'm joining you guys for lunch. I wanted to use your kitchen, but your mom just took over for me."
"Oh, yeah she likes to do that." He looked back at his guitar and resumed his strumming.
Perhaps ignoring his house guest wasn't the best idea, but the farmer was quite content to see him practice. In the end, the farmer was the first to initiate conversation.
"You're really good at this," he said.
Sam flushed at the compliment. "Thanks."
"To be honest, I don't know what I expected to see in the countryside," said the farmer. "But this... you guys are from the city, right?"
"Yeah. You can tell by my room, huh?" He looked around at his own room as if he wasn't the one living here. "I grew up in Zuzu City, so... I guess my hobbies aren't really all that 'country'. I guess you grew up there too?"
The farmer nodded. "It's what I've always known."
"I get you. Moving to the country is pretty scary at first. Lucky there are people my age around. Have you met Sebastian? Or Abigail, or Penny?"
"Yeah, I met them. They seem cool."
"They are. They've stayed here in the valley for pretty much their whole lives. Though Seb really wants to leave, though it'll be pretty sad if he does. We wouldn't have a keyboardist for the band!"
"Oh? You guys are forming a band?"
"Yeah! We've been trying to get some songs together so we can perform as like, a real band. Big plans, I know... and I can't play guitar and drums at the same time, and it's hard to complete songs..."
"And you write songs too?"
"Yeah, I mean, I think I can? I'm trying to figure out what sounds nice. But it's kind of hard making something that sounds original, y'know? Sometimes I write something and it starts sounding like the song I've been listening to the past few days."
"Oh, I get that. I could never write a song for that reason. I tried composing lyrics, but... heh, it was pretty bad."
"You'd laugh at my lyrics. Seb is way better at that."
"Yeah? He seems the type."
There was a short pause while they stared at each other, with Sam awkwardly holding onto his guitar.
"Um," said the farmer, "this might be a strange request, but can I hold your guitar?"
"Sure, here you go." He removed the strap and handed it over.
The farmer was a little scared holding it, but he flipped it over with relative ease and adjusted his hands into place. He played an A chord, and then muted the strings, seeming embarrassed.
"Oh!" Sam seemed excited. "You know how to play?"
"Kind of? I can play a few chords... I'm more used to acoustic," the farmer admitted. "It wasn't my guitar. I miss playing it, though."
He fiddled with the guitar a little more, playing a few more notes and chords.
"Hey, not bad!" Sam remarked. "Where'd you learn to play?"
"Back in high school, we had this singing club..." The farmer smiled. The memories came back to him, reminding him of a brighter time before Joja corporate life. "We had a band, was good friends with the bassist. She lent me her old guitar."
He sighed. "I should really catch up with her."
"Yeah," said Sam, who was now grinning from ear to ear. "I mean, that's so cool. I didn't have that in my high school. We had choir, but..." Sam made a sour face. "Not my style."
"Heh, same here," said the farmer. "Which is why I did pop singing."
"You can sing?"
The farmer laughed. "Well, I was in a singing club. It's been while, though."
"Cool! Can you sing something for me? ...sorry, did that sound weird?"
The farmer shrugged. "It's fine. Hm, let's see..."
"Oh, um, you don't have to sing right now! It's totally up to you. And you can come join us during band practice."
"Hm... Sure, I'll drop by when I can. I'll figure out a song to sing by then."
Sam beamed at that.