Chapter Text
"It can't be like this forever. It won't be like this forever."
That was the mantra that Gavin kept repeating to himself while he slaved away at a mundane office job. He had struggled to get by after graduating from college, and it had been seven years since then. Now, he just found himself yawning consecutively for a company called Joja.
It's funny, Gavin thought. He thought for sure that he'd become accustomed to city life, as he desperately wanted out of the suburb he grew up in. And now here he was, in a city he had practically spent his early twenties in. It seemed like what dreams were made of, especially to Gavin, but things were not as they seemed.
It just seemed like another average day, and Gavin was kind of getting sick of it.
All throughout his day, he just found himself dozing off, with the sounds of "Weed Pin" by Drug Church blaring through his headphones he snuck into his cubicle.
It didn't help that Gavin related to those words in excruciating detail, but then again, that was a lot of Drug Church's work.
During his excruciating shift, Gavin kept looking at a document labelled "Resignation", which he pulled up and read to himself, just to keep him sane. He kept waiting for the day that he could finish the letter and shove it in his asshat boss' face, telling him to fuck all the way off to Ecuador.
But there was no time to do that, still more ways to crush people down via big corp capitalism, something Gavin spent his younger years opposing, as an avid participant of the punk scene.
Work finished, and Gavin exited the Joja building and barely caught his bus, arriving at his apartment and whipping up a quick and mediocre frozen dinner and a few beers before flopping in front of his TV, turning on a movie he could just ignore while he questioned his own reality and if he was content with everything that has happened to him in recent memory.
It was then that Gavin received a phone call. It was his mother. This didn't really faze Gavin as his mom often called him, sometimes a video chat over something that could simply be texted. It drove Gavin nuts but he picked up every time, and this was no different.
"Hello?"
"Gavin, honey…how's things going?"
"It's life, but what are you going to do?"
"Yeah, yeah…listen, I have some bad news."
"What is it?"
"Your grandfather…he doesn't have much longer to live."
This news took Gavin by shock. His grandfather had been in the hospital for a few months now after contracting terminal cancer. Even though Gavin was convinced his grandfather would be able to overcome the diagnosis, it seemed like the cancer came back and it claimed his grandfather. He went mute for a few moments before he was snapped back to reality.
"Gavin?"
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry. He doesn't have much longer?"
"Just a few days. But he says he wants to see you. He has something for you."
"...he does?"
"Yes, and he wants to see you in person to give it to you."
Gavin blinked, and looked around his apartment. He loved his grandfather more than anything, but he knew that Joja would not condone him calling off work even for a relative on his deathbed, hearing that the company had fired someone for taking maternal leave. But this was his grandfather, and something inside Gavin told him that his grandfather was giving him an inheritance of sorts that could help him get out of Joja and actually live his life.
"I'll be over there tomorrow."
"Sounds good, Gavin. I'll see you tomorrow."
Soon after that, Gavin's mother hung up. Gavin finished his dinner and then headed off to bed, wondering what his grandfather had left for him.
—
The following morning, Gavin stepped off the bus in his hometown. His mother was there to greet him, and they embraced in a hug. Gavin's mother says it was great that he was able to come on such short notice, to which Gavin says he wouldn't miss this for the world. The two got into the car and drove to the hospital. During the drive, Gavin began to reflect.
Gavin and his grandfather were incredibly close. His grandfather owned a farm somewhere on the East Coast, and Gavin went to spend a summer with him every year until he became a teenager. Gavin saw his grandfather rarely ever since then, but he knew his grandfather was very proud of his work on that farm, and he worked until he suffered a really bad heart attack and was forced to move in with Gavin's mother. And the farm went mostly abandoned. Gavin's thoughts were interrupted when he and his mother arrived at the hospital.
Once inside, Gavin and his mother were led into a room, where Gavin's grandfather laid. It almost seemed like his eyes brightened when he saw his only grandson.
"Gavin! Good to see you, my boy."
"It's good to see you too, Grandpa. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."
"Oh, how I missed you. How's life going?"
Gavin winced. He didn't necessarily like these questions, the answers ended up the same every time. "It's…life, you know?"
"It's been getting you down, kiddo?"
Gavin nodded.
His grandfather understood, slowly nodding, before motioning to Gavin's mother.
"Can you give me and Gavin a few moments?" his grandfather asked.
"Of course." Gavin's mother replied, before leaving, closing the door behind her.
Gavin's grandfather turned to Gavin, before repeating the same question.
"Truth be told, Grandpa…it kinda sucks. I'm just being crushed by Corporate America and just barely making enough to get by. And I just can't get out. I'm feeling trapped. Pigeonholed, almost."
Gavin's grandfather nodded.
"I used to feel the same way. Then I bought my farmland, and it gave me a sense of purpose, almost."
"Yeah, you loved that farm."
"Not as much as I love you, Gavin. There's something I want you to have."
With that, Gavin's grandfather reached to the side to grab an envelope that Gavin had just noticed, before handing it to Gavin.
Gavin began to try and open the envelope, before his grandfather stopped him.
"Not yet, not yet. You must have patience. Come closer."
Gavin obliged and leaned forward.
"There will come a day where you feel crushed by the burdens of modern life and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my boy, you'll be ready for this gift."
Gavin stared at the envelope, and back at his grandfather.
Some tears started flowing down, and he reached over to hug his grandfather.
Despite being in a weakened state, his grandfather managed to hug him back, and Gavin's mother walked in to see the scene.
She couldn't help but smile at the sight.
—
Some time passed by, and Gavin's grandfather had passed away. It was hard for both Gavin and his mother, and sometime after the funeral, Gavin arrived back at his apartment, and all he could do was sit in his living room, staring at the unopened letter. He wanted to open it, desperately, but he remembered his grandfather's wishes and kept it sealed, waiting for the right moment to open it.
It turns out that the right moment was very very soon, as Gavin returned to Joja to a rude awakening. It turned out funerals were not a reason to call out of work, according to Joja, and when Gavin walked back into his office he was immediately called into the office of his boss, John.
Gavin shuffled into John's office, and John was angry. He began asking Gavin several questions such as "Where the hell were you?" "You are way behind on your workload, you know that, right?" "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kick you out of this place of business right now."
Without hesitation, Gavin told John where he had been for the past few days.
"I was in my hometown. My grandfather caught cancer and he wanted me to see him."
"That's no excuse!" John shouted. "You know damn well you alert someone for time off!"
"As if you would have approved it anyway. You guys never give anyone time off." Gavin snapped back.
"Well we have to continue productivity somewhere! Because of this sudden absence from this company, you are going to be working unpaid overtime every day for the next month!"
Gavin was taken aback by this. "What? You can't do that! I was at my grandfather's goddamn funeral!"
"You think I give a shit about some old ass curmudgeon? No! Now get back to work or I will make you get back to work!"
Gavin stormed out of John's office and headed back to his cubicle. It was right then that Gavin snapped internally. He had been putting up with Joja's shit for five years and this was the final straw. Not only was there a lack of empathy, but John had also insulted Gavin's grandfather.
This was enough incentive for Gavin to look inside his briefcase, where the letter was stationed.
Gavin grabbed the letter and looked it over.
He remembered his grandfather's words, only open when he felt crushed by the burdens of modern life.
Well, Gavin was sure as hell feeling it right at that moment, so without hesitation, Gavin opened the envelope and pulled out a letter.
He began to read the words his grandfather had written for him.
"Dear Gavin, if you are reading this you are 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. Sundowning 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 boy. Good luck. Love, Grandpa. P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?"
Gavin read over the letter probably a dozen times, confirming his theory from days prior that his grandfather was giving him an exit ticket out of his mundane life.
It was then he began hearing the notes of the same Drug Church song he was thinking of earlier.
He pulled up his resignation document, finished typing it up, and then printed it out, before storming to John's office, barging in while he was chewing out another poor employee.
"Get out." Gavin hissed at the employee, who nodded and hurried out of the office.
"What is the meaning of…" John started before Gavin slammed down his resignation on the desk.
John picked it up and looked it over.
"What is this?" he asked.
"If you could read, it's a resignation letter. I've had enough of this fucking company putting down people like me and that guy you were berating earlier." Gavin said, in a threatening tone, before he grabbed John's tie and pulled him closer.
John struggled against the friction as Gavin told him, through gritted teeth:
"In the words of the band Drug Church, fuck you, at 12.50 an hour. I should have burned this fucking place to the ground."
With that, Gavin let go of John's tie, sending him falling to the ground.
John struggled to catch his breath as he could only watch as Gavin left the office, and Joja, for good.
—
Gavin looked around his apartment for one final time. In that same afternoon, he had packed a suitcase full of some of his things. He didn't think he needed much, after all, his grandfather had a farmhouse that would have whatever he needed.
After taking one last look, Gavin shut the door to his apartment, feeling like the next stage of his life was about to begin.