Harvest Bravo

Prelude

Long before there was the towering city of Atland with crowded streets, factories, and all the conveniences of modern technology, there were farming villages. Life in those villages was simple, but the stories that came from them were anything but.

Every village had its legends. Every farm had a story behind its harvest. Every farmer had a destiny waiting somewhere beyond the next season. Some of those stories were about romance. Others were filled with drama, adventure, or mystery. There were stories about witches and wizards, warriors and monsters, mermaids and princesses, and even goddesses who watched over the land.

But no matter how strange those stories became, they all had one thing in common. They were stories of the Harvest Moon.

As the years passed, the world changed. Atland grew into the city it is today. Small buildings gave way to skyscrapers. Factories and businesses created new kinds of work, and more people left the countryside in search of opportunities elsewhere. Yet the farming villages never completely disappeared.

Every once in a while, someone tired of crowded streets and noisy cities would look toward the countryside and wonder what it would be like to leave everything behind. To live somewhere quieter. To work the land. To become a farmer. And that dream burned the brightest in the heart of Laura Bravo.

When Laura turned eighteen, she left her family in the Great City of Atland and moved to Flowerbud Village as part of the Exciting Ranch Plan. She purchased an affordable piece of land, built a new life for herself, and began learning everything she could about farming and beginning wasn't easy, but Laura loved it.

Over the next three years, her little farm grew. She raised animals, planted larger fields, participated in festivals, made friends throughout the village, and helped breathe new life into the community she now considered home. By the time Laura turned twenty-one, however, she had become a victim of her own success.

Her farm was enormous. There were crops to water, animals to feed, fields to clear, produce to harvest, buildings to maintain, and never enough hours in the day to do all of it. Laura needed help.

Normally, there might have been a very simple solution to that problem. Flowerbud Village had plenty of young men and women around her age. Perhaps Laura could have found someone special, settled down, and eventually shared the farm with a husband.

Unfortunately, Flowerbud Village was experiencing a rather unusual problem. The young men and women weren't exactly getting along.

Laura had plenty of friends, but friendship didn't make the work disappear. Morning after morning, she rose with the sun. Evening after evening, she returned home exhausted. For the first time since moving to Flowerbud Village, Laura began to feel lonely.

Then, late in her fourth Spring, a letter arrived from her parents in Atland. Laura read it. Then she read it again. Her older brother Tony had lost his job.

For years, Tony had worked in Atland. Now, with the city struggling through a recession, he was unemployed and apparently having difficulty finding another position.

Laura immediately worried about him. Then she looked out the window at her enormous farm. She thought about her brother. She looked at the farm again. And Laura Bravo had an idea. Whether it was a good idea remained to be seen.

That evening, she sat down and began to write.

Dear Big Brother,

How are you doing? Mom and Dad wrote to me and told me that you lost your job. They also said things aren't going very well in Atland right now, so I guess finding another one hasn't been easy.

I'm worried about you, Big Brother. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm your little sister. I'm allowed to worry.

Things are going great here! Flowerbud Village is still as peaceful as ever. We have a beautiful beach to the south, a mountain where you can see almost the entire village, and a huge forest to the west. You'd probably like the rivers too. There are plenty of places where you can go fishing. The villagers can be a little strange sometimes, but they're good people.

Laura stopped writing. A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face. Then she continued.

By the way, do you have a girlfriend yet? Because if you don't, there happen to be quite a few single women around here. Just thought I'd mention that.

Laura giggled to herself before returning to the more important part of the letter.

Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you could come live here for a while. I have a second house I'm not using, so you wouldn't have to pay rent. I could even give you a job helping me with the farm. Don't worry! I'll give you something easy.

You don't have to stay forever. If you just need somewhere quiet while you figure out what you want to do next, that's okay too.

I really would like to see you again. It's been three years since I moved away, and I miss having my big brother around. Maybe living close to each other again could be fun, like when we were kids.

Think about it, okay? You can write back if you want. Or knowing you, you'll probably just show up at my door one morning without warning.

Take care of yourself, Big Brother.

Love,

Laura Bravo

Laura set down her pen and read the letter one final time. She was satisfied. Tony needed somewhere to go. Laura needed help. Her brother could escape the troubles of Atland, live rent-free in the countryside, earn some money, and enjoy a much quieter life.

Maybe he would even meet someone. As far as Laura was concerned, everybody would benefit.

She folded the letter, placed it inside an envelope, and prepared it for the morning post. Outside, the last days of Spring were settling over Flowerbud Village. The fields moved gently beneath the evening breeze while stars began appearing above the mountains.

Laura looked toward the village and smiled. "Don't worry, Big Brother," she whispered. "You'll love it here." She had absolutely no idea what she was about to unleash on Flowerbud Village.