Chapter V: An Unexpected Visit

Fawna receives a friendly visit and a rather large present.

                A rapping on the door the next morning caused Fawna to sit bolt upright. Still in her pyjamas, Fawna climbed out of bed and dragged her feet to the door, rubbing her eyes sleepily. An old man with a hunchback and a little girl with dark brown braids stood there. Fawna raised her eyebrows at the little girl. She disliked children immensely. "May I help you?" she asked curtly to the old man. He smiled and reached out his hand for a handshake, and Fawna reluctantly took it.

                "Hey there. My name's Barley and I run one of the ranches down in Mineral Town," he told her. "I heard that Serenity Falls' farm was handed to a new owner and I make a point of getting to know all my fellow farmers around these parts," he told her. Suddenly, he looked her up and down and chuckled. "Although I have to say that I wasn't expecting the new farmer to be someone like you, but I guess you can't judge a book by its cover, eh?" he told her. Fawna smiled in spite of herself. Here was someone who was willing to give her a chance. She decided she liked Barley. The little girl stepped forward with a small box.

                "I baked some cookies." she said sweetly. "They're chocolate. I hope you like them." she told Fawna, handing her the box which Fawna had to admit smelled delicious. You couldn't get homemade fresh food in the city; that was for sure. Well, that's at least one upside to being here... the food's great but I shudder to think of the calorie count, she thought to herself as she accepted the gift.

                "This is my granddaughter, May. Whenever you're in Mineral Town, stop by for a visit. Oh and I brought a gift for you too. He's out by the stable. Come and see," he told her. Fawna's slender black brow furrowed in confusion. Her gift had a gender? Something told her she wasn't going to be so fond of it, then. Sure enough, there was a big smelly animal standing there, munching on grass; a horse. "He's not doing so well on my farm and Mineral Town's other farmer already has a full stable so I thought I'd bring him by here. If you can raise him well, I'd really appreciate it."

                "Uhhh... I don't mean to be rude Barley, but I don't know the first thing about horses, and he's... smelly," she finished, plugging her nose in disgust. Barley laughed and clapped a strong hand on her shoulder which made Fawna stumble.

                "You must be one of them pretty city slicker girls," he chuckled. "Not to worry, just have a little faith in yourself and you'll be just fine. There's nothing to it. Just brush him and talk to him every day and eventually you'll build a strong bond with him," he reassured her kindly. Fawna stuck her hip out and crossed her arms.

                "I highly doubt that," she sniffed. Feeling May tug on her pyjama bottoms, she looked down.

                "What'cha gonna call him, Big Sister?" she asked. Fawna just stared at the little girl blankly.

                "Erm, Big Sister?" she asked. May laughed and hugged Fawna around the waist as Fawna tried to pry the child off of her.

                "Yes. I don't have a sister and I like you, so I'm calling you Big Sister!" she said happily with a childish giggle. Fawna smirked and awkwardly patted May on the head.

"Uh, that's... nice... I guess." she mumbled. Turning back towards the horse who was now shaking the flies off of his mane, Fawna frowned. "I really need a martini..." she sighed, remembering her favourite drink at Greg's bar back in the city. The horse suddenly perked up his ears and nudged Fawna's arm, getting his horse slobber all over it. Fawna jumped back in alarm and tried to wipe her gooey arm off on the stable's wall. "GROSS!!!" she screeched, absolutely disgusted, while Barley and May laughed pleasantly.

                "I think you've found a name that he likes, there," Barley commented. Fawna gave the horse a blank look.

                "Martini?" she asked uncertainly. The horse gave an excited whinny and pranced delicately on his hooves. Fawna grinned. "Martini," she said with more force. "I guess I can take him. I mean, I'm a farmer now and I guess every farmer needs a horse on their-" she turned around to look at Barley and May, but they had disappeared. Placing her hands on her hips, Fawna sighed in exasperation. "What is it with these country people?" she muttered, slightly miffed. Turning back to Martini, she patted his mane but sneezed when a cloud of dust came up from the contact. "You may be smelly and gross, but I guess you're mine now," she told him. "Go... be a horse... whatever it is horses do," she told him before going back inside her home, shaking her head.