Beginnings

Angela moves to her father's hobby farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley after an embarrassing incident at school.

    I knocked on the door to the run-down cabin and waited patiently for someone to answer.  I was supposed to meet a man named Takakura who had gone to school with my father.  After what seemed like an eternity, the door creaked open and I saw a middle-aged man standing there with a curious look on his face.  He had short, salt and pepper hair, bushy eyebrows, and deep lines etched in his face.  He frowned at me and said, "What do you want?"  I was startled by his rudeness.  Weren't country folks supposed to be friendly?  "Um...my name is Angela.  I sent you a letter explaining everything..." I let my sentence trail off.  The man smiled and said, "Sorry, I should have recognized you.  You look like your dad."  I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, but decided to let it pass.  "C'mon, I'll show you around the farm." he stated without further introduction.  He brushed past me and walked over to one of the buildings.  I ran to catch up with him and he quickly gave me the scoop on the hobby farm that used to belong to my dad.  Basically, everything needed a lot of work.  I could tell dad hadn't been out here in ages.  Dad...I miss you so much.  It had only been three months since his fatal heart attack and the loss was still fresh in my mind.  He had been so excited about my upcoming graduation, but he missed it due to a twist of fate.  At least he hadn't been alive when I made a fool of myself at school.  I thought I was in love and finally got up the nerve to ask out one of my classmates.  Apparently, the feeling wasn't mutual.  Almost everyone at my school had laughed and had ridiculed me when I was rejected.  I had never been so embarrassed in my entire life.  You would think I'd learn not to choose "style over substance".  The good-looking ones were nothing but trouble, and they were usually quite aware of their good looks.  Oh well, live and learn I guess.  The gossip hotline was full of nothing but my sordid story for weeks.  Mother had been horrified because I had embarrassed her.  That was the main reason mother had agreed to let me spend the summer in Forget-Me-Not Valley on dad's old farm.  I needed a change and I needed to get away for a while.  Hopefully, the gossip would die down while I was gone. 

    "Here's the chicken coop." I was startled out of my memories by Takakura's voice.  It was obvious that he had kept the place from falling apart, but just barely.  The house, chicken coop, barn, and tool shed all needed extensive repairs.  This was going to be expensive, and I had barely enough money to make it through the summer.  Takakura seemed to sense my despair because he quickly said "Don't worry.  You will make money in no time.  I'll help you fix up the buildings a little better, and I have a surprise for you."  He led me into the cool, dim interior of the barn.  I could smell the sweet scent of fresh hay and something not so sweet...  "This is your new cow." Takakura stated proudly.   I knew absolutely nothing about farm animals, but I recognized the black and white creature before me.  It "mooed" at me and stuck it's wet nose on my hand.  "Yuck!" I exclaimed, backing away and trying to wipe the slime off.  "She's just hungry." Takakura assured me.  "Here, put this in her feed box." he said as he handed me a small pile of hay.  As soon as I placed the hay in the feed box, the cow rushed over and started munching happily.  Takakura then showed me how to milk a cow.  This was quite an experience for a city girl.  For some reason, it felt slightly perverted to handle a cow in such an intimate way.  How would you like it if some strange person was squeezing your...well, never mind.  I finally managed to get most of the milk into the bucket and Takakura congratulated me on a job well done.  I was so proud of myself, you would have thought I cured cancer or something.  After Takakura helped me put 'Daisy' out in the pasture to get some fresh air, he decided it was time to meet the locals.

Author's Note

Not much of interest in this chapter, but I have to set the stage, so to speak.

Reviews

[Emunah June.]

Ooh! I really liked this!

Question: Will Jack be in this story? I love Jack. :3