Chapter Text
For the first time in years, you felt like you could finally breathe, even on the stuffy bus you’d been on for hours. It was unbelievable how different your life is now compared to last week, and you haven’t even arrived at your destination.
The bus ride into the Valley was just as long as you remembered. There was definitely a reason why you would only make the trip here once in a blue moon as a small child. Not to say it wasn't worth it. As you gaze out the window of the bus, you see that the Valley was just as beautiful as the day you last visited, the warm sun reflecting off the ocean made it seem like glistening diamonds. All the flora and fauna it had to offer was thriving on this beautiful Spring morning. If you watched closely, you could see deer prancing about the meadows, and wild turkeys walking up the hills. It felt like a movie, like your own little nature documentary that only you had the privilege of witnessing. Well, you and the very few other folks making the bus ride this deep into the rural side of the Ferngill Republic. "Yoba, how I've missed this place..." you whisper to yourself as you allow yourself to lie back, basking in the sunlight creeping in through your window.
How is it possible that even the sun feels different here? If you let yourself sit in the sun for even a moment back in Zuzu City, you would instantly feel drenched in sweat. But right now, all you feel is gentle warmth. You chalk it up to nerves and nostalgia hindering your senses.
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The last 45 minutes of your bus ride felt longer than the entire trip, as soon as the driver called out "Pelican Town!", you bolted out of your seat and heaved the few, nearly bursting at the seams, bags you had that you packed so quickly before you left this morning. You couldn’t pack much though, the earliest bus left at noon, and you had only read your grandfather’s letter late last night. You knew this would be your last hope to escape the life that was slowly killing you.
The moment you stepped off the bus you were greeted by a redheaded woman who seemed to be in her late 30s, early 40s.
"Hey! I'm Robin, you're the new farmer who just moved here, right?" she asserted, needing no confirmation.
You looked up at her and started to reply. "Hi! I'm-" you cut yourself off when you hold out your hand, intending to shake hers, but only for you to swing your bag towards her, almost knocking into her. She steps back, chuckling as you jerk your hand back and drop your bags in the grass. "Insanely groggy. And awkward" you add, extending your hand towards hers, "long bus ride, definitely starting to feel it now" you admit as she takes your hand to shake it.
Robin laughs, giving you a gentle pat on the arm "Don't sweat it, Kiddo. I can only imagine what a long trip that must've been for you" she replies as she picks up one of your bags as if it had weighed nothing.
Before you can protest, she responds "Mayor Lewis sent me to make sure you got to the farm safely, he's there right now tidying things up. The farm's right down this path if you want to follow me." She gestures towards the grassy, dirt path through the trees. You pick up your bags and take a deep breath, "Lead the way!" you sang, as she leads the two of you down the path to your new home.
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It's not long before she starts making conversation, you find out that she's the local carpenter and lives up in the mountains with her husband and two kids. You're in the middle of telling her a little bit about the life you left in the city before you spot who you assume to be the mayor. He’s an older man, not much taller than you.
He calls your name and beckons you over to the front of the farmhouse. “It’s good to finally see you, the last time we met you were still making mudpies in the front garden” he smiles in remembrance.
You smile warmly back at him, “Has it truly been that long? It feels like only a few years ago...”
Logically you knew it had been almost 2 decades, but from what you remember, the bus stop was the same, and for the first time you allowed yourself to look up at your grandfather’s old cottage, still standing but significantly run down.
“Oh…Wow!” you managed to choke out.
Lewis replied, “Your grandfather’s cottage is a fine house, very…’rustic’ ’’.
Robin snickers, “Rustic is one way to put it, I’d say ‘crusty’ is a little more apt” she remarked.
Mayor Lewis glances at her and starts to glare. "Don’t listen to her… She just wants you to buy one of her house upgrades”. Robin’s eyes went wide at his statement, she huffed before he continued. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, we’ll let you start settling in. Tomorrow I’m sure you can make it into town, I know everyone’s eager to meet you” he concluded as he and Robin said their goodbye’s, leaving you alone to take in your surroundings.
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Your eyes shifted around the farm, it's trees and grass overgrown, rocks and branches littered about the ground. You let out a sigh, restoring this place to its former glory would be increasingly more difficult than you had originally thought; but now was time for some well-deserved rest.
You grabbed your bags and opened the door to your new home, immediately feeling your nose crinkle involuntarily as the musty interior filled your senses. "Okay… Maybe I do need to ask Robin to make some repairs, there’s no way there isn’t a leak in here somewhere" you thought to yourself, making a mental note to keep an eye on roof when it rains next.
You looked around the cottage, it was small, but it had a functioning kitchen and running water, a small bathroom, and a small bedroom. It was definitely much smaller than you had remembered, but you could make it work.
You decided to open the windows and leave the front door open to air out the stagnant smell that had been accumulating over the years. You set your bags on the creaky bed that looked like it could give out at any moment and started to unpack your things. You put all your clothes that you had brought in the wooden dresser of your new room. The dresser was actually quite beautiful, it looked old, and probably hadn’t been touched in years. You ran your fingers over the carvings of small leaves and flowers that had been engraved in it.
In doing so, however, you noticed there was a thick layer of dust on everything. You sigh, adding dusting to the already never-ending list of chores to your list; but you decide to finish unpacking before you worry too much about the state of your new home. As you finish unloading what little personal items you had, you set your bags on the floor, deciding that your first priority will be washing these dusty old sheets.
You spend the next hour hand washing the bedding in your bathtub, since there’s no washer or dryer, this will have to make do. It took you a while to find some rope to tie around some trees to hang dry your sheets, but once everything was set to dry, you finally collapsed in the small armchair that was in front of the fireplace, not caring what spiders or dust bunnies lurked inside its crevices.
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Before you knew it, you were waking up in the same spot you had sat down in presumably hours ago judging by the darkness outside. You sit in silence for a moment before getting up from your cozy spot with a yawn, stepping outside to gather your sheets. You make your bed before you head to the bathroom to take a quick shower before you lie in your fresh sheets. You peel off your long sleeve shirt and jeans as the water warms up, feeling thankful that it heats at all. You glance at the bruises littered on your arms and thighs running your hands over them softly as you take in a shuddering breath. "He will never find you again... there is no possibility of anyone harming you ever again..." you assure yourself before hopping in the shower to cleanse yourself of all the sweat and grime your body had accumulated over the day.
You went on auto pilot as you dressed yourself and tied your hair back, falling into your bed for a dreamless sleep.