Chapter 1

Tired. I am so very tired. How long have I’ve been asleep? It feels like it’s been forever, yet I am still too tired to move. I can’t move my arms or legs. I can’t even turn my head or open my eyes. I just get even more tired if I dare to try. So I just keep sleeping because I am too tired to do anything.

I have been asleep so long, I can’t even dream. I can’t even remember what life was like before I started sleeping. At this point, it feels like I’m just floating in a black void. No light, no sound, I can’t even feel anything. Nothing but empty space while I just sleep forever. Who am I even? How did I even get here? I can’t remember anything at all.

I am so bored of sleeping. I’ve tried hard to wake up, but I can’t seem to no matter how hard I try. Sometimes I would try for hours, but my body can’t seem to move even just a little. Then I would just give up and accept that I might never wake up. This is my life now. Just a random person who just sleeps for eternity. I can’t eat. I can’t drink. And most importantly, I can’t die.

In a far off place exists a small village known as Forget-Me-Not Valley. This village is home to a small collection of inhabitants that once lived in the nearby city of Atland. These people moved to this remote village to start a new and peaceful life far from the noise and commotion that they grew up in. Many of these people even found love and started families in this small valley. They all dream that someday their children will inherit the valley and make this place a true home.

Forget-Me-Not Valley is also home to a small number of magical creatures. There is a Harvest Goddess who rules over nature with her harvest sprites. Mystical beasts both great and small living in the woods that protect the valley and lives peacefully with the humans. If you’re lucky, you could even see a mermaid swimming in the sea. No one knows where these creatures came from, but everyone thrives and coexists with each other in Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Our story begins at one of the farms in Forget-Me-Not Valley. A young man in his mid-twenties walks out of his house to greet the fresh mid-spring air. Everyone in the village calls him Mark, and he is one of the most talented farmers that the valley ever had. He inherited the farm from his late father about five years ago. He has made quitea name for himself ever since then. Everyone in the valley relies on his green thumb and love for animals for their daily bread and milk. Everyone is happy to have such a nice and reliable person living with them in the valley.

Mark takes a deep breath and gazes over his farm. The air is cool and perfect to let the animal graze on the dew filled grass. The fresh smell of dirt in the morning feels refreshing for the farmer. He scratches his brown spiky hair while yawning, then grabs his tools to get ready for another day on the ranch. Like any other farmer; he waters the crops, lets the animals out, and harvests anything that is ready to be stored or sold. The day is pretty light, and he is done with his work fairly early.

He stares off into the beautiful clear sky and smiles with a hoe on his shoulder. He feels that this is a great day for deliveries. Mark is currently unmarried and with no children to care for. So when he is done with work, he tends to spend his time with the other residents of the valley. One of the ways he contributes around the village is by handling requests. When the people of the valley need something, they would drop him a letter in his mailbox. Mark happily takes this chance to help his busy neighbors and watch the village grow.

He checks his mailbox and finds it filled with requests. He nods proudly as he imagines his neighbors leading very busy lives and needs some help. Lucky for everyone, Mark has everything they need in his storage silo. “It’s everyone’s lucky day. Nobody will need to wait for me to grow any crops or forage any goods,” Mark says to himself. After reviewing the requests for a while longer, he heads into his silo so he can start packing the stuff in preparation for delivery.

Once he is all packed up, he jogs out the farm to start the deliveries for the day. His first stop is Vesta’s farm, Celia requested some turnip seeds that Mark makes in his farm using his seed maker. The seeds Mark makes are much higher quality than the ones Vesta orders from Mineral Town. Mark makes great seeds, and Vesta buys them from him. This business arrangement between the two farms helps them both prosper.

Mark knocks on the door to the house and waits. He hears the sound Celia’s baby crying inside the house. He lets out a stressful sigh as he imagines what it must be like to raise a child. Soon enough, he hears someone running through the house desperate to answer the door before Mark leaves. Celia finally answers the door breathing heavily. Her long brown hair is in a mess, and her dress is wrinkled. Mark chuckles a bit since he knows that Celia’s baby can be quite a handful.

“Sorry Mark, I just put the baby in the crib,” explained Celia.

Mark smiles, “no problem. I figured that you were busy with little Toby. How is the little guy doing anyway?”

“He’s a stubborn boy, just like his father,” she answered with a smile.

“Speaking of fathers, where is Marlin?”

“He’s in the field harvesting the last of the turnips. Our son keeps up so busy, that we didn’t realize that we ran out of seeds. We’re so glad that you make them in your farm.”

“It’s no problem,” answered Mark. He then pulls out a bag of seeds from his rucksack and hands them to Celia. “I hope this is enough for the rest of spring.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure that Vesta pays you as soon as she gets back.” Mark nods. Suddenly the baby starts to cry loudly again. “Sorry, my baby needs me. See you later!”

After Mark says goodbye, he heads east towards the villa. As he crosses the bridge, he notices that all the rest of his deliveries are on the way to the villa. “What luck, looks like I’ll have time to go to the mines today,” Mark comments.

He enjoys taking a casual walk around the valley. It gives him a chance to appreciate the beauty and nature of the valley. Not too long ago, the cherry blossoms were blooming. The trees are now green with bushy leaves, and the spring flowers are in full bloom. The babbling brook sounds relaxing as he crosses the bridge. The serene winds can put anyone in a good mood and sleepy. Mark even planted a bunch of fruit trees around the valley, which adds a nice fragrance in the air when the fruit are in season.

Mark takes a detour towards the lab. On the way, he finds Nami enjoying a song her husband Gustafa is playing on his guitar. He clearly remembers their wedding two years ago. Everyone was quite surprised to see them get married, especially with each other. After living in the valley together for years, they have found enough in common to fall in love and start a new life together. They currently don’t have any children yet, but Nami wants Gustafa to turn in his yurt and buy a house when they decide to have kids.

“Hey Gustafa! Catch,” yelled Mark just before he tosses him a small bag with his request.

Gustafa catches the bag, “hey, thanks man! You’re the best!”

Mark waves at them, then continues towards the lab. Daryl’s Lab is quite a unique place. The generators that power the lab are always flashing electric bolts that make a disturbing zapping sound. Because of how creepy the building is, most people steer clear from the lab. Daryl has spent many years experimenting on the local mythical creatures, especially the yeti that lives in the forest called Mukumuku. But life in the valley has a way to change your life in the strangest ways. These days he had settled down and got married with the most unusual wife anyone has seen. Daryl is married to Leia, a mermaid he found stranded at the beach some time ago. He nursed Leia back to health, while studying and doing research on Mermaids. Before he knew it, he fell in love with her. Instead of releasing her back to the ocean, he proposed and made her his wife.

Mark knocks on the front door, and Daryl answers only a few moments later with his messy jet black hair and dirty lab coat. Sometimes Mark can’t get over his blood shot eyes fueled by caffeine and determination. “Ah Mark! How can I help you my friend?”

Mark pulls out a bag of raw fish and hands it to Daryl. “Here’s your request, caught fresh just last night!”

“Oh, thank you! My wife can’t seem to get enough fish, you know,” answered Daryl.

“How’s the baby,” asked Mark.

“He’s doing very well! Despite being half mermaid, he’s growing up like a normal human child but with green hair. My research on mermaids has grown considerably as I watch Leia care for and raise him. It’s just too fascinating.”

Mark chuckles nervously. He wonders if Leia knows that Daryl is still studying her. But everyone knows that Leia is very happy living with Daryl, so he just minds his own business and moves on. Mark says goodbye to Daryl, and heads towards his next destination. His next stop is at the Blue Bar, home to his best friend Muffy and her husband Griffin. They got married only last year, and they are expecting a child soon.

Mark walks into the bar and finds Muffy sitting at one of the tables rubbing her baby bump. The day is still early, so there are no customers just yet. Despite carrying a child, Muffy still helps out whenever she can at the bar. She also runs a club for all the married women in the valley to spend time away from their kids and husbands. She may be very active, but Muffy still takes it easy and follows Doctor Hardy’s orders.

“Hey Muffy, how are you feeling today”, asked Mark

“We’re fine. I was wiping down the tables, then I got a little tired. I’m just taking a break right now,” she answered.

“I got Griffin’s order here, is he around?”

“He’s at Cody’s for a bit, but he’ll be back in time when the bar gets busy. You can leave the package at the counter, I’ll let him know you stopped by.”

Mark nods then walks over to the counter to lay the bag down. He then takes another look at Muffy and wonders if she’ll be okay at the bar alone. “You want me to stick around until Griffin comes back? I’m not too busy.”

Muffy shakes her head no, “I’m fine. I know you like to hang out at the mines and stuff. Thanks for worrying about me, but everything is going to be fine. I bet we won’t get a single customer before Griffin comes home.”

Mark nods again, “okay. But if you need me to help for any reason, just give me a call.”

“I will,” answered Muffy. After saying their goodbyes, Mark leaves the bar and starts walking up the hill towards Romana’s Villa. The villa is a large mansion that is home to Romana, her granddaughter Lumina, and their butler Sebastian. Romana is an elderly lady who was the first to move to the valley many years ago. Lumina is Romana’s granddaughter that she’s been caring for since she was a child. These days, Lumina is in a committed relationship with Rock. They have been dating for several years, and everyone waits in anticipation for them to be the next married couple in Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Mark knocks on the large fancy front door, then Lumina answers quickly. “Hey Lumina, everything is okay with Romana? Her request sounded urgent.”

“Yeah, everything is fine. Auntie Romana just realized this morning that she ran out of medicine, and she’s just being a bit dramatic. Doctor Hardy is out of town right now, And he can’t fill her prescription. He’ll will be back tomorrow.”

Mark chuckles as he hands her a bag with some medicine. “She is quite a character. Tell her I said hi, will you?”

“You bet,” said Lumina cheerfully. With that, they say their goodbyes and Lumina goes back in the mansion.

Mark now only has one delivery left to make. He takes a deep stressful sigh as he remembers who he will be delivering to. Forget-Me-Not Valley has a witch living among the other villagers, and she is a scary person to say the least. Nobody knows anything about her, not even her name. She is only known to everyone as Witch Princess. Witch Princess is dangerous and everyone keeps as much distance as they can from her. Only Mark can safely interact with her, since they have worked together in the past to break a curse. Even if he is the only person who can talk to her, he still must tread carefully as Witch Princess has a very short fuse and gets angry easily.

Mark approaches the old hut slowly. He has been to the hut many times, but never inside. He can never get over how creepy the old house is. The old wood is covered in moss and vines. There is a stench of rotting lumber coming from inside. He wishes that he never has to go near the hut, but he needs to fulfill his requests. Even to the Witch Princess.

He knocks on the door, then takes a step back. His heart races as he hears the foot steps of the witch approaching the door. The door slams open, and the witch pops out of the house in a sour mood. “What!? What do you want!?”

“Hey Witch Princess, it’s just me,” answered Mark as he holds the package nervously.

Witch Princess snatches the package, “thanks, now get out of here before I turn you into a frog!” She then enters her hut and slams the door behind her.

Mark takes a breath of relief. He knows that her words are no empty threat as she has cursed people in the past for fun. He is safe for today, but he knows that she could be in a worse mood next time. For now, he just walks back down the hill and heads west. He checks the time and he sees that he has plenty of free time. A perfect day to go work his part time job at the dig site.

Shortly after Mark arrived at Forget-Me-Not Valley, an archaeologist named Carter and his assistant Flora set up camp near the mountains of Forget-Me-Not Valley. They started a dig site looking for remains of an old civilization that mysteriously vanished hundreds of hears ago. Mark volunteered to help them when he has spare time, which he has a lot of these days.

He walks through the valley once again and finds himself at the dig site. He enters the tent and finds Flora taking inventory of the items they’ve found. Mark takes a moment to remember the times he has spent with Flora and Carter. Carter and Flora started as partners when they first arrived five years ago. After spending years living under the same tent together, they fell in love and got married. They plan on building a house where they can raise a family once their job in the site has ended. For now, they just keep on working until they find what they are looking for.

Mark walks around the tent and takes a look at all the stuff they’ve found over the years. Their first discovery is a stone tablet that Mark found while digging in the ground. The old tablet has some old ancient writing of a forgotten language. The tables also have some strange flower shaped stones, jewelry, coins made of different valuable metals, fossils, and other strange man-made objects. Their most prized discovery is an old sword that Mark found deep in one of the mines. Seeing all the great stuff he found, he can’t wait to find the next big thing hidden deep in the earth.

“Hey Flora, where’s Carter,” asked Mark.

Flora lowers her clipboard and smiles for Mark. “He’s at the main office right now filling out some paperwork. He’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Mark nods. “I’ll be headed down the mines again, did you restock my supplies?”

“Sure did,” answered Flora as she tosses Mark a backpack. Mark checks the contents of the backpack and finds it filled with rope, lanterns, and a flashlight with fresh batteries. There is enough supplies to explore a couple of new floors, but still have enough room to carry his tools and whatever he finds down there.

“So, how far down have I been down the third mine,” asked Mark as he swaps his rucksack for the backpack.

Flora checks her papers as she answers, “lets see. . . The third mines have two hundred and fifty-three floors so far. You didn’t hit bedrock just yet, so there should be more floors down there. Just be careful, you never know what’s you’ll find down there.”

“Got it, see ya,” cheered Mark as he walks out of the tent and straight towards the dig site.

The dig site is a cave that opened up before Mark arrived in the valley. Carter was hired to check out the dig site for traces of the lost civilization. After some time, they found several mines behind the walls of the cave. So far they found three mines, but Carter suspects there could be more. Each new mine they discovered goes deeper into the earth than the last one, with even more hidden treasures as well. Mark has no idea where the mines came from or how deep they go, but he does enjoy exploring them.

It takes him a little over an hour to reach down two hundred and fifty-three floors into the earth. Once he gets there, he starts to hit the ground with his hoe looking for an entrance to a lower floor. Soon enough, he hits a soft spot that he can use to make an entrance to the level below. With a well timed strike of his hoe, he breaks a hole to a new floor below. He uses his flashlight to make sure that the level below is safe to descend.

Using the rope, he makes a ladder that he can use to travel up and down the mines. He climbs down into the dark floor, then pulls a lantern out of his bag. He slams the lantern against the ground which floods the whole floor with enough light to see what he’s doing. Just like all the floors above, Mark finds the area filled with large boulders or geodes. One by one, Mark smashes the boulders with his hammer to reveal the treasures within. Most of them have nothing, but others have precious metals or gems. The metal ores he finds are perfect for crafting tools or makers he uses on the farms. The gems are nice to ship, but he does collect some for requests.

After smashing all the stones, it is now time to comb the ground to see what he finds. Ever since he started exploring the mines, he has found plenty of odd items stuck in the dirt or clay. He has found plenty of old jewelry, statues, and many other ancient items lost by time. He donates any artifacts to Carter and Flora for their research. As he tills the ground, he finds an old hairpin under the dirt. He picks it up and takes a closer look. The old hairpin is damaged, but it is made of some exotic and fancy material only suitable for royalty. He studies it for a while, then places the hairpin in his backpack and continues to dig around.

Once he finishes exploring the floor, Mark checks the time and sees that the sun must be setting outside. It’s still early, and he feels that he has just enough time to explore another floor of the mines. He pulls out his notebook and notes that he finished exploring floor number two hundred and fifty-four. He then starts tapping the ground once again looking for another soft spot to make an entrance to the floor below. He locates it after a few minutes and gets to work right away. With a strong fierce till, the ground sinks and a hole is formed. He creates another ladder using rope and slowly climbs down.

Once his feet touch the ground, he pulls out another lantern and slams it on the ground. As the floor fills with light, Mark quickly notices that something is different about this level. The area has no boulders of geodes, which has never happened in any floor of the mines before. The air feels cool, which is unusual for being so deep in the earth. There is also an uneasy aura that sends chills down his spine. Something feels off, and he has no idea what.

Mark turns around, then gasps at what he sees. There is a wall in front of him, but this one is different than the rest. Throughout the entire mines, all the walls were carved out using hand tools that leaves them rough and bumpy. But this wall is smooth and completely man-made. He walks up to the mysterious wall to take a closer look. He places his hands on the bricks, but they are not made of clay like normal ones. These bricks are made of marble, which must be expensive to harvest and cut. The bricks are held together with a thin layer of cementing paste, not concrete or mortar. Nothing about the wall resembles anything he has ever seen before. It can only be built by a skilled mason from the middle ages.

Some of the bricks have some type of drawing or ancient writing of the long forgotten language. Mark touches the words that are carved into the wall, he has no idea what it says or mean. Could it be a warning? He has no idea who wrote them or why, but they fascinate him. He knows that he should call Carter and have him examine them, but he feels drawn to the wall. Almost like a silent voice calling out to him.

He places his ear against the marble wall, then taps it. He can definitely hear an echo at the other side. He can tell that there is empty space on he other side of the wall, but he has no idea what may be inside. He takes a look at the wall, but finds no entrance or door anywhere. If there is an entrance, it must be buried in the rock. If he wants to get inside, he will need to break a hole through the wall.

He pulls out his hammer and strikes the wall. The hammer bounces off, but he can feel the cementing paste get weaker. He takes a step back and tries again. He then charges forward swinging his hammer with all his might. The bricks cave in, kicking up a massive dust cloud that blinds him momentarily. Mark covers his mouth and keeps his eyes shut until the dust clears a few minutes later. He then takes a look inside, but the room is pitch black.

He pulls out his flashlight and walks in. He gasps as he notices all the wonderful treasures he finds. He finds old fashioned furniture that is commonly found in bedrooms such as dressers, closets, vanities, and other items. Everything is made of fine lumber carved from hardwood trees and the finest silks that can only be suitable for a king. All the furniture have a layer of dust that must have been untouched for centuries.

“What is this place? Why is this room so far down in he mines,” he asked himself as he slowly walks around. Soon enough, he bumps onto the foot of a bed that rests in the dead center of the room. He points his flashlight at the bed and notices that it’s also made of fine carved wood with an intricate design that looks hundreds of years old. There is a thick quilt that covers the bed that has been undisturbed for a long time. “That’s weird, why is this bed in the middle of the room?”

As he looks at the queen sized bed, he finds two lumps sticking up under the sheets close to the base of the bed. He reaches over and tries to grab the lumps, then pulls away quickly. “Toes,” he said in a shocked tone. He now knows that there is someone or something laying in the bed. He also knows that this room has been sealed off for a long time, what could be laying there?

Mark takes a nervous sigh, and walks up to the headboard of the bed. He is scared to find out what’s in the bed, but he did come this far already. There’s no turning back at this point. Will he find a mummified corpse, or a statue? He wants to run back up to the surface and tell Carter what he found, but something keeps him there.

He points his flashlight at the place where you would normally find a pillow. His eyes widen and tremble as he looks at the face of a young girl just laying there. He is paralyzed with fear, shock, and confusion all at the same time. A young girl that looks as if she is sleeping in a room sealed off for longer than anyone has been alive. He doesn’t realize it yet, but his life is about to be changed forever.