Stardew Romance

I sit at my desk, running my hands through my auburn hair. My boss slowly walking through the cubicles next to me, checking all the screens as he passes. I groan and lean back in my chair, looking to my computer screen and the meaningless numbers. There’s a small commotion to the side of me, “another one bites the dust” I say to myself as I watch another employee begin packing their things and storming out. My thoughts drift to my grandpa’s farm. My parents didn’t take me there often as a kid but it was such a lovely little place. And my poor late grandpa- it’s been nearly four years since he passed. Suddenly I remember his gift to me. I open my desk drawer and pull out the old envelope, running my fingers over my grandpa’s purple wax seal. I carefully open the envelope and pull out a letter in my grandpa’s handwriting. “To my dearest granddaughter, 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: Moonlight Farm. It is located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life. This was my most precious gift, and now it is yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck. Love, Grandpa. PS: If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will you?” I take a deep breath and wipe a tear from my eye, flipping the letter over and reading the deed to the farm. It’s true, it’s all mine. My heart races as I stare at the papers. I can barely hear my boss talking until he waves a hand in front of my face. I look up at him. “Hey there, kid. What do you have there?” He leans against my desk, pointing at the papers in my hand. “Uh, it’s a letter from my grandpa. He died almost-,” “Yeah, well I’m gonna have to dock your time five minutes to account for your personal uh, stuff.” He interrupts. I stare at him for a moment, without saying anything. I think to myself, it’s just not worth it. “Well. You can save yourself the trouble. I quit.” I watch my boss stammer as I stand up and look down at my desk. The only personal item I have here is the letter in my hand. I smile for the first time in forever and gently fold the letter and place in back in the envelope, before pushing past my boss and walking away without saying another word. Later that week I watch the city fade in the distance as the bus carries me off to my new life. We pass a sign that reads “Four Miles to Stardew Valley”. I’m almost there! My excitement grows the closer I get. Before I know it, the bus slows to a stop and I disembark. I slowly walk through the bus stop as the bus drives away. I take a deep breath of the clean air and continue my walk to the farm. Just as I get to the entrance, a jovial looking older gentleman comes out from the farm. “You must be Harmony! My name is Lewis and I’m the mayor of Stardew Valley, we spoke on the phone.” He smiles and shakes my hand. “Yes, of course,” I smile back at him, “it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lewis.” “Come, I’ll show you around.” He turns and walks with me through the gate and into the farm. There are weeds and rocks, fallen branches and overgrown trees everywhere. My mouth drops as I look at the overgrown and forgotten farmland. “It’s been a long time since your grandfather was here. Oh! Here’s the farmhouse!” I turn to see a run down looking cabin, it looks cozy despite its unkempt appearance. “Wow this place is.. something!” I say, trying to hide the fear in my voice. “It sure is. You know, your grandfather was a great man. I’m sure you’ll do him proud.” He grins at me. I can’t help but smile back. “I hope so.” Just then a pretty redheaded lady walks towards us. Lewis extends an arm towards her and looks to me. “Harmony, this is Robin. She’s the town carpenter, and damn good at what she does.” She grins and waves at me. “Hi there!” She pulls me in for a quick hug, “I brought you some tools.” She hands me a bunch of tools, including an axe, pickaxe and a hoe. “Wow, thank you so much, Robin.” I smile and take the tools. “You know, this place could use some TLC, that house has a lot that needs fixing!” She smiles, but my heart races- she certainly is right about that. “Robin! Have some manners!” Lewis barks at her, “don’t mind her, Harmony, she’s just trying to sell you on improving. When you settle in, you can start thinking about renovations.” I nod and smile at them. Lewis takes a deep breath, “we’ll leave you to it now. If you need any help, just give us a holler. Oh! And everyone is so excited to meet you. Once you feel settled, why don’t you take a walk through town and meet some of the locals?” I nod and smile as Lewis and Robin turn and walk away. I look out on the farm and sigh. There’s a lot of work and a long road ahead of me. I turn to my left and see my mailbox indicator up, meaning I already have mail. I go and check it, finding a letter from my dad. He wishes me luck and includes $500 to “get me started”. I laugh to myself, I’m gonna need a lot more than that but bless him anyway! I go inside the cabin, set my bags down and find a small gift on the table. I walk over and read the tag. It’s from Lewis! I open the gift and find a bunch of parsnip seeds and a note that reads “to get you started”. Aww, how sweet of him! I think to myself. I get my things all put away and then put the seeds in my pockets, taking one last look around before going outside. I grab a couple of the tools and begin clearing a spot out. After awhile of breaking rocks, clearing weeds, and picking up pieces of wood, I wipe the sweat from my forehead. Whew. This sure is a lot of work, I’m drained. I watch the setting sun in the distance, taking a deep breath of the woodsy, fresh air. My new life. A second chance. I use what little energy I have left to hoe a small section of land and plant the seeds Lewis gave me. I take a step back and admire my work before slowly walking back to the house and putting away my tools. I organize the things I collected and sit down on the bed. It’s hard to believe that just a week ago I was working a dead end job I hated, living a paycheck to paycheck life in the city, working myself to death. Now here I am, getting my hands in the soil, breathing clean air and most importantly- I’m free. I close my eyes and sigh. I realize how much hard work I have ahead of me, but it actually feels like a giant weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I lay down on the old bed and get under the covers, curling up and wrapping the blankets tight around me. I slowly drift off to sleep- smiling.