Chapter Text
She can feel the wheels of the bus spinning beneath her seat. Just her luck— she ended up right on top of the axle, limiting her legroom, but whatever, it did the job. Whatever is left of her things are packed up in the compartment above her, leaving only her headphones and phone with her, slowly getting more and more useless as hardly any service manages to make its way out here. She sighs and eventually puts her phone away after watching her music app buff for two minutes straight, resigning herself to the sounds of the engine buzzing, the wheels rolling against the road, and of the people around her, surely not stopping at the same time she is.
She reaches up to press the button, notifying the driver to stop at the next available opening, similarly to how she would back in Zuzu. She gets the feeling that this will be the last time she got any sort of taste of the city for a while. At least, she hopes so.
She gets up into the aisle when the bus begins to slow, opening the compartment above where her seat was. She stumbles when the bus runs over a pothole, luggage falling from its compartment and slamming into the ground, right atop her foot.
A sharp breath exits her mouth before she stifles it, biting her lip. Tears coming to her eyes as she shuts them tight. There's already been plenty going on lately, she is not going to break down now over luggage falling onto her foot. Not now. Not in the middle of this bus.
The bus finally stops. She looks out of the window briefly and spots a little sign. It looks homemade with little carvings in the wood providing some detail to it. So unlike the typical metal signs that name the place newcomers have stopped at. That one difference itself feels like it's foreshadowing everything else to come after it. How different life is going to be after this point.
She walks to the front of the bus and climbs down the stairs, struggling as she heaves her bag down the narrow passage. Once she's off, the door shuts immediately after her and the tires begin to squeeze, signaling her departure and speeding off into the distance without another moment, another word, another thought. It really encompass what the city is all about. Passing faces and short-term solutions. Uncaring and unforgiving.
Once the bus is finally out of view, she takes a moment, breathing in the marginally clearer air. She had almost forgotten what clean air feels like in her lungs compared to the stifling, dirty smog of the city. There's a slight breeze in the air, the sky is tall and blue and bright above her with a few fluffy white clouds, the sun beams down pleasantly. All the makings of spring are in the air — and there’s someone here to meet her. She seems to be calling her over.
“Ah! Lewis mentioned you. Rae, was it?” says the woman. She looks middle aged with bright, orange hair tied up and welcoming, green eyes. Her pallette is warm and bright and despite her edges, holds some softness around the corners. She looks rugged, yet clean, certainly not uncared for. Muscles and scrapes are visible from beneath her tan vest and yellow sleeves.
“I’m Robin, the local carpenter, Lewis sent me to come get you. He’s over at your new home doing some final tidy up,” Ah, a carpenter, that would explain the strength she has. Actually, it explains a lot of the other woman’s features… Not that she’s complaining. She takes a moment to scrape her brain for a Lewis… Wait, that’s the name her grandfather mentioned in his letter.
“Oh! Yeah, I am” She says, honestly a little flustered as she lugs her bag over her back, struggling slightly as the weight jostles.
“Need help with that?” the stronger woman offers, noticing Rae's stumbling, unaccustomed to bulk of her bag when— for so long— all she's had to do was carry a laptop and a coffee. She had bought some new farm tools before she had come here and still hadn’t quite adjusted to the weight of them. Quite honestly, it’s a little pathetic how much she’s currently struggling with it.
“That would be appreciated, thanks…” Rae responds sheepishly, a little embarrassed that she came to start up —or continue?— a farm, and she can’t even lift her tools. Robin takes the moment to take the bag, clearly carrying it around easier than Rae herself had been. She can't help but admire the strength exhibited by the carpenter.
The two women walk down the path, tools clinking together in the bag over Robin's shoulder. Thankfully for them, the walk wasn't long at all and Rae could see the top of the farmhouse from where the bus had dropped her off.
Soon enough, they were on the property and Rae can get to see what she’s going to be working with and can’t help but cringe a little. Brambles all around with debris and rocks and wild grass running completely uncontrolled other than by the rules of nature. Already a few minutes in and the work that she’s going to have to put into the farm seems daunting. But that’s also why she came here. To get away and put some work into her life that may actually have some meaning other than being another in the cycle. Here, she’d be in control of the cycle.
That thought is surprisingly sobering. As if she’d only just now realized what she was getting herself into. Becoming an integral part of a local community. Being important rather than someone who will fade into the background until her soul fades with her. It gives her responsibility. Rae can’t fade anymore, she’s not allowed to. She thinks that’s a good thing. She hopes so.
“I see that look in your eyes. I know how it looks but there’s some good soil under all there, but only if you put in the effort to get to it,” Robin says, her voice soothing yet cutting, making its way into her skull beside the rest of her thoughts. Rae smiles at her nervously like the burden of responsibility is already weighing on her. Just as she’s about to say something back, she can hear a creaking sound coming from in front of her.
“Ah, the new farmer!” says an old man, exiting the shack that Rae is soon supposed to call home. He's of an average build and his hair is grey-going-white. An auburn hat covers his head and matching suspenders keep his pants from falling. His handlebar mustache and bright yellow tie accentuate his hipster-like look, all tied together with that bright green button up. The older man comes around closer to the two women, initiating a proper greeting and offering a hand shake.
“I’m Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town,” says the gentleman, a face now connected to a name. Rae takes his hand in return, giving a quick shake and offering a smile that she hopes looks friendly. “Everyone’s been asking about you. People don’t move to the valley very often!” he remarks and turns to the cabin.
“I was just getting the old place fixed up for you. It’s a nice one, been here since your grandfather’s days — Yoba rest his soul. Very ‘rustic’, as you kids would say.” Rustic is certainly a word to call it. Seems Robin agrees.
“Rustic? I think ‘crusty’ is better suited. Or maybe ‘decrepit?’” The ginger offers beside her with a bit of snark in her tone, setting down the bag beside her with a clatter, the tools within it clanking together. As much as Rae agrees with the analysis, she wasn’t going to be the one to say it. It’s technically a family property after all. There’s sentimental value in it. Lewis on the other hand squawks at the assessment, making Robin laugh.
Lewis glares at the woman for a moment, although not with hurtful intent, more like a fond father. “Don’t listen to her, Rae. She’s just trying to make you think less of the property so you’ll buy her upgrades.” Robin pouts at the assumption despite its truth, and Rae can’t help but smile at the interaction. If this is the kind of relationship between the mayor and the local carpenter, she has a good feeling about the rest of the little town. Lewis rolls his eyes at the fiery-haired woman and looks to Rae once more, “Well, it’s been a long travel for you. You should get some rest. You can introduce yourself to the town and get started tomorrow. Everyone’s been wondering what the new farmer is going to be like.”
Lewis explains a few more things relating to the operation of the town, Rae taking particular note of the things relating to the farm; From the local stores to buy seeds from—She completely ignores the idea of buying from Joja. No way in hell is she doing that— to how exactly to sell her crops. Seems most stores here have a buy/sell exchange system. That — along with the shipping container beside her house — would make the whole "making money" part pretty simple. When Lewis walks away, he gives Rae a squeeze to her shoulder and one more assessing look, as if comparing her to a memory.
“Y’know, you have your grandfather’s stature. A bit of his personality too. You could use some more meat on your bones, but I think you’ll be just fine.” Rae can feel her cheeks warm at what seems like approval from the older gentleman, knowing that an old friend of her grandfather’s can see him in her. As he starts to walk away — to attend to some mayoral duties or something, Rae assumes — Robin steps away too, giving her a firm pat of the back, making Rae jut forward, still not quite firm on the ground yet.
“Good luck to ya. You should come by sometime, buy an upgrade or two. Hell, I have a couple kids around your age who would appreciate the companionship. You might even be able to convince my son out of his room!” She laughs again and Rae can now recognize the motherly tone beneath her words and it makes her deflate a little bit, realizing that if she has kids, she likely has a husband to go with them… Damn.
“Yeah… Thanks, I’ll stop by soon,” She promises. Even if the older woman wasn’t available in that sense, it would still be nice to at least be on good terms with the carpenter. Makes sure she won’t cheap out on any of those ”upgrades” she was talking about. Robin smiles at her before stepping away, following Lewis back to town and presumably back to where she conducts her business. Possibly in her house? She didn't see any carpentry-related buildings from her quick glance.
“Oh! And one more thing,” She says, spinning around once more, waving at her, “Welcome to Pelican Town!” It’s the last thing she says before slipping away beyond the hedges that separate the farm's property from the trail into town.
Now alone, Rae takes another look around the farm, as if it could have changed at all in the last few minutes. She once again takes in all the rubble and weeds and heaves a deep sigh. She has her work cut out for her, that’s for sure, but she has a feeling that this will be good for her. She’s starting a new chapter in her life in this little town. One where she can actually contribute to something bigger than herself.
Though before she gets to all that, she really is tired from the journey and she can see the sun beginning to set from beyond the stray trees on the land, casting the property in an orange glow. It really is quite picturesque if you don’t mind the — what word did he use?— rustic quality to it. The soothing view makes her yawn and she stretches, letting the gentle wind rustle through her hair before she reaches down to grab her bag, heaving it over her shoulder to put on the porch. Robin really made it look easy carrying the bag around. She’ll have to build some strength if she’s planning to make this farm her own.
She takes one more moment to take in the view from the field. Of the silence of the valley. Not the anticipating, waiting, silence of the city, the one that appears when something bad is happening, but the peaceful, quiet, lull of a town settling for the day. Where everyone is going back home; spending time with their families, having dinner, winding down. And where the people with established lives here do familiar end-of-day routines, Rae has to get used to her new normal. To a house that isn’t quite hers in a town she can’t yet call her own. There’s something about it that she’s honestly excited for.
Rae finally steps inside the house and there’s a faint dust coating overlaying the insides. It’s just as small as it looks on the outside, not even containing a kitchen. It’s “cozy” with a small open-floor plan, being able to see her bed from the door. There’s a fireplace in the corner — already lit — with a table, chair, and rug. She crosses the little house and runs her finger across the windowsill, a faint layer of dust coming off of it and makes a note to clean the place when she gets the chance. It wouldn’t be hard. There’s not really much to clean after all.
She sets her bag down with what remains of her things after selling off whatever she could and finds her charger, only to find a severe lack of power outlets in the house… Seems she’ll be visiting Robin sooner than she thought for that upgrade. Seriously, not even power or a kitchen? Not even a bathroom now that she's thinking about it. How did her grandpa live here so long? She sighs and sits on the bed, dust sprouting off the covers and making her sneeze. Okay, cleaning has just earned the number one spot on her priority list, next to clearing out the farmland, which, now that she thinks about it, also counts as cleaning. But all of that can come in the morning. Right now, she wants to sleep.
She fumbles with the covers and makes her way under them shifting around to get comfortable in the rather small bed. She’ll get used to it, she’s sure. The new farmer finally closes her eyes and rolls over, slowly settling into sleep, uninterrupted by rowdy neighbors and the honking of cars and the generally noisy city. She could get used to the silence.