Chapter Text
It was a rainy night on the Southern Coast of the valley. The snow of winter was almost completely gone, and the temperature was becoming a lot more manageable for the residents of Pelican Town. The first day of Spring was only about 2 days away, and many were gladly awaiting the change from frigid cold snowstorms to warm, Spring showers like tonight. Rainy nights like these were the only times when the local doctor would take a seat at the Stardrop Saloon's counter, a small glass of wine in hand.
His name was Doctor Harvey Grant. He'd studied health and medicine for years in Zuzu City, landing himself a doctorate as one of the smartest members of his class, easily earning his place among the medical field. However, about 4 or so years ago, the city had begun to feel suffocating.
Harvey hated the overwhelming feeling of so many patients, so much responsibility. Of course the work of a Doctor is not easy, but Zuzu city was so fast paced and packed with people that Harvey couldn't keep up with it. Eventually, he felt like he just couldn't take it anymore, especially with how isolated the city felt.
He had no real social circle apart from his coworkers, and never felt like he was welcome to be friends with them outside of the hospital. So when he learned there was an open position in a very small town nearby, he practically leaped for it without a second thought.
Now, here he was in Pelican Town 4 years later. Still isolated, but in a better way.
Harvey wasn't the greatest with people, only able to keep his social composure and read cues when he's in full doctor mode. But despite how closed off he kept himself, he still felt at home. He had a close friend as his only coworker, a community that was so tightly knit that he practically had all their records memorized, and a town who took things slow and steady. And everyone in it knew that he preferred his nights alone in his room. It was always a surprise when Harvey decided to actually come out to the saloon, but they still didn't pester him, which he definitely appreciated. All in all, Pelican Town was Harvey's home.
And apparently, someone new was going to join the family.
"Did you hear? Serenity Farm is going to have a resident again!" Harvey overheard Marnie say a few tables away. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but Marnie was definitely the gossiper of the town, and she wasn't quiet about it either.
"I hadn't!" Caroline exclaimed with a small gasp. "That's certainly news to me, we haven't had a farmer at Serenity Farm in over a decade. Why would we be having a new resident now?"
"I hear it's the old farmer's granddaughter," Marnie explained. "Or at least that's what Lewis told me. She should be about the age of Abigail, or maybe closer to Shane. Oh I do hope Shane gets along with her, maybe this could be the girl he needs to pick him right up off his feet!"
Harvey took a small sip of his wine, taking in the information. Abigail was barely 20, and Shane was 28, leaving this new farmer around 24 years of age or so, basically Maru's age. Harvey sighed to himself, yet again older than many of the other people of Pelican town, with this new farmer not changing the trend anytime soon.
The adults of the town were either bachelors and bachelorettes, all 20 or so, or they were older and taken, ranging from late 40s to early 70s. Harvey was unfortunately still stuck in the middle at 36, the eldest of the bachelors, 8 years older than the next.
It wasn't a huge deal. Harvey had since accepted his fate of being single for the rest of his life, forever a bachelor older than the rest. Ever since the loneliness of Zuzu City, he'd sort of given up looking for anyone anyway.
He always thought it would be nice to have a spouse of some sort, but everyone in town either didn't talk to him, or he wasn't interested, and it's not like anyone ever visited the small town, save for a few festivities. Thus, a life of solitude, living above his clinic forever, was what he had. And he was definitely fine with that.
Definitely.
Unsure of where the thoughts of being single came from, Harvey tuned back in to the conversation.
"Didn't even know old farmer Griffith had a granddaughter if I'm being honest," Marnie rambled on. "I wonder why the girl is only showing up now, after so many years of her grandfather being gone... oh well, regardless, it's so exciting! A new resident, for the first time in 4 years! I do hope she settles in well."
Harvey decides it's getting late. "Thank you for the drink, Gus, I should be heading home," he says, setting his payment on the counter. Gus gives him a nod as he heads out.
"Stay safe out there Doc, can't have the only doctor in town catchin’ a cold!" Gus chuckled as Harvey walked out the door into the subsiding rain, no one else seeming to notice his disappearance.
A new resident, the first since Harvey's own arrival. He couldn't help but wonder if they'd get along, if maybe he could help her feel less lonely and help her settle in the way Maru helped him those few years ago.
Either way, he couldn't help a shimmer of hope somewhere inside him, that maybe things might not be so lonely anymore.
You're fucking kidding me.
Eliza Griffith, a young woman in her late 20s, had been living in Zuzu City for about 4 years now, and oh boy, was she regretting it.
She was stuck in a dead end job with a roommate who was almost never home, let alone paying their cut of the rent. Unfortunately, she didn't really have anywhere else to go, as much as she wanted to leave the city behind.
Her parents had basically kicked her out, saying she needed to learn how to live on her own. They simply waited for the moment she finished college to boot her from her house.
Eliza had her degree in agriculture, but never had plans for what career to explore with it, she simply liked knowing about plants and how to take care of them, much to her parents dismay. They just wanted her to be happy and successful, unfortunately not realizing their 'push' in the right direction was actually just kicking her to the curb on the brink of going broke every other week.
Now, here Eliza was, sitting at her desk at Joja Inc. She had checked her phone notifications, praying to Yoba that it was her roommate sending over the rent money, only to find, instead, a text from said roommate.
"Heyyyyy so I'm gonna be out of state for an indefinite amount of time, you've got the rent covered, yeah?"
No. No she definitely didn't.
"Why the hell are you going out of state??? And can't you just send me the payment before you go, surely you won't be gone a month"
In the few seconds of waiting for a response, Eliza's frustration was only growing. Why'd she have to decide to live with the only other person from college who she knew needed financial support, and who was notoriously unreliable? This roommate was constantly out of the house, coming home smelling of alcohol, and sometimes they even showed up injured, as if they'd gotten in a fistfight. She hated them quite a lot, but unfortunately, she didn't really get a free choice of roommate on the short notice she got 4 years ago.
Her phone vibrated with a response.
"Can't really explain, got some guys on my tail, not sure when I'll be back, don't have the money for rent rn"
Don't have the money for rent right now.
Don’t. Have. The money.
Eliza was about ready to dropkick her roommate the next time she saw them.
She knew her roommate wasn't the most innocent person around, but whenever they disappeared for a few days, she was sure it was just some dumb thing they were doing with friends, like going drinking or clubbing. She assumed it was some sort of small form of delinquency, like going about town intoxicated, picking fights with strangers or something.
Apparently, it was looking like gang behavior, and being on the run from the police. Great.
Eliza chucked her phone into her filing cabinet in outrage, slamming the drawer with a loud crash. Her coworkers shushed her loudly, so she just slumped into her chair in defeat, dragging her hands across her face.
What was she even supposed to do? Her parents probably wouldn't let her back home, not without a huge earful waiting for her, like "You were living with a delinquent criminal and just didn't care???"
Or maybe something more frustrating, like "You really need to learn to live for yourself, you'll end up as a 30 year old in no time, still living in your parents basement with no hope of having a love life or kids."
Gosh, they just loooved to rag on her for being single. Her mother was desperate for grand-kids, she knew it, and it wasn't like Eliza didn't want kids herself. (Wasn't like she was working towards having them either though.) She just never found someone for her, and now she was 27, nearing the end of when guys would even look her way.
She ran her hand through her brown hair, the waves as messy as ever, falling back to her shoulders as she sighed.
Alright, she needed to calm down and make a plan. She didn't have long before her funds ran out, and the options were slim as it is.
She reached into her filing cabinet to grab her phone, still stuck on what to do, when something caught her eye.
A purple wax seal on an old envelope she had completely forgotten about, labeled "Grandpa's Letter."
"There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my dear, you’ll be ready for this gift."
Eliza's grandfather's voice rung in her ears, almost like a whisper had come from behind her. She whipped her head around; no one was even looking her way.
With a small shake of her head, she lifted the envelope and held it in her hands. It had been 10 years since her grandfather passed, 1 year after she had been given the letter in the first place. Was she ready to open it...?
Well, her roommate was in trouble with what she assumed was the authorities, she was basically two steps away from being homeless (or being fumed at by her parents), and her job was nothing but a soulless corporate building filled with tired people who had resigned themselves to their mundane existence.
If there was ever a time she was crushed by the burden of modern life, she guessed it was now or never. With a small, silent 'crk', she broke the wax seal. She readjusted her round framed glasses, and read:
"Dear Eliza,
If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.
The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Serenity Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.
This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck.
Love, Grandpa
P.S. If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?"
Something grew inside her chest as she finished the letter: hope.
A gift over a decade old was her way out. Without knowing it, her grandfather had saved her from Yoba knows how much trouble she was in. From beyond the grave, he had given her the promise of a home, a place where she could have a livelihood, maybe even make friends and have people to talk to again.
Without much thought, Eliza folded the letter and stuffed it in her suit jacket pocket, and rushed down the row of cubicles to her manager's office. No longer would she be stuck in a crummy city of overpriced materialism and jerks. Now, she'd be in a small town full of nature and real people, people who would maybe even welcome her. And maybe...
Maybe she wouldn't be so lonely anymore.
